The Rainbows Incentive
by SithizenZ
Summary: What if Voldemort really died? What if Sirius got to Harry and ran? What if Harry grew up in a loving home? What would he do to a new darkness looming ahead? This is an AU story with some plot points similar to the real story. Rated M for violence, language and potential sexual content, nothing too explicit.
1. Chapter 1

**The Rainbow`s Incentive**

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a fanfiction of any type and I wish to use this as a writing experience for a book I am trying to write, so any constructive critisicm would be much appreciated! **

**There will be mentions of sexual content and innuendo during the story, as well as fights and some obcene language use, therefore I am rating the story under M from the get-go to avoid future issues.**

**This story will be a different take on the Harry Potter story and there will be some major changes as well as minor changes. First of all, this is not a super powerful Harry story or a Harry/harem story, but there will be titles and lordships, though the reveals will have to wait for time being. My intention for this story is to take place across Harry`s life up until 7th year, maybe some after. There will be time skips and various perspectives.**

**Harry Potter and all characters are the property of J.K Rowling, I am just using her sandbox for non-profit and entertainment purposes. May contain some OCs that I am currently working on. Please enjoy and leave comments and ideas as well. Without further ado, let us commence with this journey.**

Chapter 1 – Green in a sea of Black

**31 October 1981 – Saturday**

"Avada Kadavra!"

A green flash lights up the night sky mere minutes after midnight, leaving the neighbourhood around the two floor cottage in a viridescent glow for a fraction of a second. A bone-chilling scream echoes through the night, followed by a man in a billowing cloak rushing through the hole where the front door should be, talking to himself under his breath.

"Please no, please let me be wrong," he begged, rushing up the stairs and into the nursery. The baby in the crib, bawling loudly while looking up at him with bright green eyes. The man picked up the baby and started grabbing some important things in the house when his head snapped up at the sound of a few soft _pops_ a small distance away.

"No, I need to leave, now," he snapped his palm and a wand jumped into his hand from the holster on his forearm. Waving it around him in quick, elegant patterns and turning on his heel, he disappeared just as men in black and blue robes entered the house, led by an old man with a long, silvery white beard.

**0o0o0**

Sirius Black appeared in an alley in a muggle neighbourhood a few blocks from his destination. He started running down the deserted street with a crying baby wrapped in a blue blanket held tight against his chest, hoping against hope that no-one finds him before he arrives at his destination.

_Please be home, please be home_, he thought to himself as he took the stairs in front of him, two at a time, hammering on the door when he reached the top.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Andromeda Tonks gasped at what she saw at the door, her cousin trying to calm down a screaming baby, panting loudly. His grey eyes bloodshot and tearing, his shoulder length black hair in disarray.

"Please Andi, this is very important, I need sanctuary. They will be looking for us now, please let me in and I`ll explain everything! Get Ted as well, this is very important," Sirius kept looking over his shoulders, eyes darting everywhere, searching the shadows.

"Sirius, get inside, go to the living room. I`ll be right back with Ted, please try to keep the child quiet, Dora is sleeping," she spoke in a hushed tone as she rushed off to the stairs to wake up her husband. Sirius started pacing in the living room bouncing lightly, trying to settle the bundle against his chest. It took several minutes, but finally, the baby settled down and fell asleep again, peaceful at last.

"Please explain why you need to ask for sanctuary, and who`s child is that?" Ted spoke up as soon as he entered the room, not bothering to sit down, his wife summoned a kettle and a few cups and started brewing three cups of tea, looking up from her seat at Sirius, still pacing in front of her, at a slower pace this time.

"Please tell me they won`t be able to track me here? They can`t know I`m here, I`ll tell you everything, but I need to know that we are safe," he sat down, took the cup of tea in one hand and took a few tentative sips, sitting back in the chair and settling the bundle against him.

Ted raised his wand, waving it around, muttering under his breath for a few seconds before speaking up, "Go ahead, Sirius. No-one can find you here now. By the power at my disposal as a man of the law, as registered lawyer with the Ministry of Magic, I grant sanctuary to Sirius Black and the child currently in his custody."

"Thank you Ted, this is a long story, so please try to listen, then ask questions," Sirius looked at them and took a ragged breath, another sip of tea, and when they nodded their acceptance, he launched into his explanation.

"This is little Harry Potter, James and Lily`s son. He is only 14 months old. James and Lily have been on the run from you-know-who for a long time now. At Dumbledore`s insistence, they went into hiding under the Fidilius charm in a cottage in Godric`s Hollow. Everyone that knows about this, is under the impression that I am their Secret Keeper, but Pettigrew is, he is the one that had to give me the location to their house. He is also the reason that they are dead now," he took another ragged breath and a sip of tea. Andromeda looked as if she was on the verge of tears while Ted sat on the edge of his chair, face ashen and his knuckles strained under the tension of his clenched fists.

"James and Lily gave me a necklace that is enchanted to serve as a warning device in the case of an emergency. Earlier tonight I felt the destress pulses and hurried to get to them, however, I was too late. I got there and the door was still smoking, James was lying on the floor, dead. I was fearing the worst for little Harry and Lily at that point. I ran up the stairs and into the nursery, only to find Lily in the same state as her husband, the wall adjacent to the door was pitch black and Harry was bawling his eyes out. The air in the room felt stifling with the amount of magic hanging in the air. I had to grab Harry and a few important documents and break the anti-apparition wards. I got out of there just as people apparated close by, my guess would be that it was the Order," Sirius poured himself another cup of tea while he waited for the questions to start. He didn`t wait long.

"Why would you need to run from the Order? Didn`t they know you`re not the Secret Keeper?" Andromeda had a confused look on her face, her eyes tearing lightly. Ted sat quietly, looking thoughtful.

"No, only myself, Lily, James, Peter and Dumbledore knows, eveyone else thinks I am the Secret Keeper. That is why I am here. We need to get the Potter Will, James updated it a few weeks ago, shortly after they moved to the cottage. The Will expains everything, me being Harry`s godfather, Peter being their Secret Keeper and chain of custody as well as inheritances in the case of their death," Sirius paced around again, lightly bouncing Harry on his shoulder as he went.

"What steps are we taking from here? I assume you have some sort of plan in place to help you and Harry stay under the radar until the Will is read?" Ted had his hands in his hair, thoughts flicking through his eyes at a mile a minute as he processed everything.

"Yes, there is a few things I have in mind, one of which is actually a favor that I want to ask you," Sirius started pulling sheets of parchment and folders out of the pockets on his robes, looking through them and handing an envelope to Ted across the small table in the middle of the room, "This letter needs to be opened by a goblin at Gringotts. The late Lord Charlus Potter, James` father, gave this letter to Lily and told her that if any of us runs into problems and needs help from the goblins until the problems are cleared up, we should have someone we trust present it to the goblins along with the name of the person it is applicable to, in this case, that would be me."

"So this is a letter requesting asylum on behalf of a goblin-friend? What favor do you need to ask us? Not counting this letter, of course," Ted put the letter down, unopened, focusing on Sirius, while Andromeda started looking through the rest of the documents.

"I need you to help me raise Harry and look after him, I am way out of my depth and he is, how do you say, a special case," Sirius stood up and handed Harry over to Andromeda, who took him and parted the blanket to look at Harry. She gasped loudly at what she saw. Ted looked over her shoulder and looked stunned. Little Harry had a head full of jet-black hair with crimson streaks, that changed colors before their eyes, cycling through purple, blue, green, yellow and more as they watched.

"He is a metamorphmagus... How is this possible?" Andromeda asked, her eyes shining brightly with pure adoration at the little bundle in her arms.

"His grandmother was Dorea Potter, her surname before Potter, was Black. It shouldn`t be possible, but he was labled as a metamorphmagus while in the womb. He kept shifting while the Healers checked up on him. Dorea was so proud to hear the news. I hope you can understand why I am asking for your help. I don`t want to dump him on you, I merely need help raising him," Sirius lifted his hands in surrender, showing no ill intent at his request.

"We will take him in. He will live with us and we will raise him along with Nymphadora. They should get along great, since she is only two years older than him," Andromeda spoke softly, not taking her eyes off of the little bundle in her arms.

"I am still going to teach him everything he needs to know, as a person, a wizard and as the future Lord Potter, we just need to name you his magical guardians, so that he can live with you without any problems," Sirius spoke softly, brows furrowed in concentration, looking at the wall behind Ted.

Ted looked outside, seeing the sun peek out between buildings, he frowned and looked at his watch, "Andi, Dora will wake up soon and I need to prepare to go to Gringotts with the letter. Please help Sirius get settled in a room while Tafty prepare breakfast," looking over to Sirius, he spoke again, "Get some sleep, we may not have a lot of time for rest in the coming days."

After eating, taking a shower and making sure that Harry is all settled, Sirius collapsed on the bed in the bedroom pointed out to him and fell asleep almost instantaneously.

**A/N: I hope you guys find the story enjoyable, please let me know what you think. For those that want to know, no, there will not be horcruxes, or a return of Voldemort. I have another villain in mind, which will be revealed soon enough. I have an idea of what relationships I want, but I will let it flow naturally for the time being.**

**The story will have a few similarities to the original series, and once again, all those are property of J.K Rowling. Any suggestions and comments are more than welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wish to announce this while I am still in the beginning stages of this journey. There is no set schedule with which I plan my updates. I may post once a day, every day, or once a week. It all depends on my real life duties and problems, but for the time being, I do not have a hectic schedule, so I will spend a lot of attention to this.**

**To those that might ask questions, Dora just turned two years old at this point and is a few months older than Harry. She will be in her second year when Harry starts at Hogwarts. Also, I feel that magic would allow witches and wizards to mature faster than muggle children, Thus Dora can walk, talk and eat on her own the same as a 3-4 year old would. The equivalency I am using, is 1-2 muggle years to one magical year. Harry is traumatized and still repressed because of his parents dying, and will soon start walking and talking off-screen. I am doing this to show that magicals mature faster than muggles. Children are still childish, though.**

**Let`s head straight into the story!**

**Chapter 2: Truths among falsehoods**

**A few hours after the end of Chapter 1**

Sirius woke up to a small weight on top of him, jumping up and down, jarring him from a fitful and nightmare riddled sleep. Opening his eyes, he could only see the blurry form of a child, with bright blue locks and a peach colored knee length sleeping gown. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, inwardly groaning and rolling over to dislodge the child and hopefully get more sleep.

"Uncle doggy! Uncle doggy! Wake up! Mama made lunch," little Nymphadora exclaimed while bouncing on Sirius in an attempt to wake him up. She started pulling on the blankets and started squealing loudly when Sirius grabbed her and started tickling her mercilessly. He stood up and pulled little Dora over his shoulder and made his way to the kitchen, the little girl screaming and laughing loudly from her perch.

"Was it your idea to send this little tyrant to wake me up?" Sirius grumbled as he sat Dora down in a chair, before taking his own next to hers. Andromeda laughed at the sight and handed them both plates filled with food. Sirius pushed a cup of orange juice toward Dora and poured himself some tea.

"Where is Harry? Is he still asleep?" Sirius stifled a yawn as he dug into his food with gusto. Dora looked up at him as if she was about to ask a question, but was distracted when her mother wiggled her plate in front of her face, giggling lightly, she started eating, abandoning all proper manners, food flying everywhere.

"Ted took Harry with him when he left, if our suspicions are correct, concerning what you told us, we need the goblin medics to look at him at Gringotts. Don`t worry, he is fed and comfortable. We gave him a nice hat as well to keep his abilities secret for now," Andromeda explained while trying to limit Dora`s destruction to her own plate.

The fact that Harry is a Metamorphmagus, shocked them all. Lily and James were stunned, Charlus and Dorea Potter were too proud for words. Metamorphism is a unique trait among the members of the Black family that was thought to be extinct due to in-marraige and metamorph hunts. People used to try and hunt those with the gift to brainwash and use them as spies, due to the price hikes and regulations on Polyjuice potions. When Nymphadora Tonks was born of Black blood, but to a muggle-born man, everyone was shocked, but some proud at the explicit proof that she was born a Black. No-one expected there to ever be two metamorphs in one generation, nevermind that both were born from pureblood/muggle-born union.

"Do we know how to help Harry and little Dora here with learning about their abilities? I think I will need to raid the Black family libraries once I take up my Lordship, maybe there are some old, dusty, musty tomes hidden in a dark dungeon somewhere," Sirius pondered, while scratching his scruffy patch of chin fur. Dora looked up at him with wide, vibrant purple eyes, when she heard her name. Her hair lengthened to just over her shoulders and had a dark blue tint to it.

"Unfortunately, I don`t know, but we can look into it when the time comes. I still don`t appreciate what my dear aunt did to me, because of my choices, but at least she`s gone now," Andi mused with a thoughtful, faraway look in her eyes.

"My dear mother was a lot of things, loving, was not one. Why do you think I stayed with James? Aunt Dorea was much more of a mother to me than my own ever was," Sirius took a deep breath, settling himself, before going on, "I really hope everything works out at Gringotts. I know that old man, he will try to pin this on me somehow."

"You were right to come to us, cousin. Ted will help you sort this out, both of you," she smiled at Dora, who started climbing onto Sirius, looking for attention, "we will sort your hearing directly through Amelia Bones, she owes Ted a favor and I am sure she would like to see you again," she laughed out loud at the rose tint covering Sirius` face.

"Ted and Harry should be back soon, then we will know where we stand at this point. Are you doing okay? All things considered, I think you might need to see a Mind Healer to help with the shock of what happened," Andi spoke softly, her eyes full of worry while looking at Sirius.

"I don`t think that is necessary. As long as I have these little ones, I should be fine, I will keep it in mind, though," he nuzzled his nose against Dora`s neck as he spoke, eliciting giggles from the little girl in his arms. Hugging her tightly, while Andi looked at them with adoration in her eyes.

**0o0o0**

**Meanwhile in Diagon Alley**

Ted looked at his watch as he stepped out of the Apparition point in Diagon Alley, noting that he is on time. Pulling the wrapped bundle closer to him as he walked, he couldn`t help but laugh at the yellow blanket with badgers on it.

He bought the blanket as a joke when Dora was born, telling his wife that he didn`t want his little girl growing up with snakes, much to the ex Slytherin`s ire. His wife wasn`t very happy with the Hufflepuff`s lighthearted teasing.

Shaken from his reverie, he walked up the steps in front of the massive white and gold building, bowing respectfully to the heavily armed goblins at the big reinforced oak doors, while heading to the furthest raised platform, the one for inquiries.

"What do you want, wizard?" the goblin growled, not looking up from his parchments in front of him, his long fingers gliding along as his eyes raked across the scribbles.

"I am looking for Sharpclaw, I am here on behalf of the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Potter and Black," Ted stated formally, raising himself up and maintaining non-existent eye-contact with the goblin in front of him.

"Ironmaw! Go get Sharpclaw, tell him the Potters are looking for him. I assume you are here on behest, and with approval of, Charlus Potter?" the goblin finished, looking down at Ted, who nodded, while taking out an envelope out of his pocket.

A few minutes later, another goblin came down a corridor to his left, "Mister Tonks, I will take that letter, and you can follow me, so that we can talk in private, especially if this concerns the Potters," the goblin spoke as he led the way down the hall to an empty conference room.

Sharpclaw cracked the seal and folded out the parchment and started reading.

_**This letter is written for, and dedicated to, the Goblin Nation**_

_**Sharpclaw,**_

_**May your gold flow as freely as the blood of your enemies,**_

_**I, Lord Charlus Potter, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, write this letter in hopes that the Nation can provide assistance and temporary protection of a legal nature to any of the following individuals,**_

_**My Heir, James Charlus Potter, his wife, Lily Potter nee Evans, and their son, Harry James Potter. Sirius Orion Black, family through my wife, as well as Edward Tonks, his wife, Andromeda Tonks nee Black, and their daughter, Nymphadora Tonks.**_

_**My hope is that this letter is not needed, but I am afraid that I may not be there for my family soon and thus wrote this as a contingency, along with my Will, in preparation for the worst. **_

_**The person bearing this letter, must give the name of a person on the list above and explain the situation and what plans they are making to solve said situation.**_

_**This letter is merely a request for the goblins to assist in providing a secure meeting place for the legal matters and to help ensure no foul play is involved or harm intended to my family.**_

_**Time is money and I do not wish to waste either.**_

_**Lord Charlus Potter of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, Friend of the Goblin Nation.**_

"Well?" Sharpclaw looked at Ted after reading the letter and putting it down.

"I bear this letter on behalf of Sirius Black, of the House Black, and Harry Potter, of the House Potter. I will explain the situation, but due to the nature of the events that transpired after midnight this morning, this little boy needs to be looked at by Healers, but as per the situation surrounding this explanation and that letter, I cannot take him to St. Mungo`s," Ted revealed the boy to the goblin, who immediately took out two pieces of parchment from two different places and walked over to the boy with a little needle-like device. He gently took Harry`s little hand and lightly pricked a finger with the sharp end while humming, to soothe the child. He looked at the glowing, broad end of the device, and dripped a few drops of a pinkish fluid on one blank parchment.

"Harry James Potter, son of James and Lily Potter, Heir of the House Potter, godson to Sirius Black, of the House Black. Metamorphmagus and a Parselmouth, it seems, most interesting..." Sharpclaw muttered to himself, while Ted looked wide-eyed at him.

"A Parselmouth? Are you sure? There has never been a Parselmouth in either the Black, or the Potter families," Ted asked, looking down at the baby in his arms, hair a reddish-pink and curly.

"I am positive Mr. Tonks, but until he is old enough to do a Family Bloodline Test, we would not be able to tell how this came to be,' he spoke while writing on the other parchment and sending it away with a wave of his hand, "follow me Mr. Tonks, once we get to the Healers here, you can explain everything to me, while they look him over."

Once they reached the goblin Healers and handed Harry over to them, with the explanation of why he is there, Ted launched into the story Sirius told him. The goblins looked Harry over for close to an hour, the same amount of time it took for Ted to give a summarized version of the events that led him to be there. Throughout the whole story, Sharpclaw focused on every word with the intensity that only a goblin counting gold could muster, this was in regards to his most loyal and honest customers, after all.

The goblin Healers finished up and handed a parchment with their findings over to Sharpclaw and placed Harry back in Ted`s arms. Sharpclaw let out a long, soft whistle as he read through the findings. Ted started getting more and more worried by the second, until he felt like yelling out loud. Finally, the goblin led him to a nearby table and motioned for him to sit down, discussions were about to commence.

"Mr. Tonks, this is a lot more serious than I thought. I must say I am astounded that this child is alive, but if I am reading this correctly, there are a lot of forces at play here," he spoke, while looking at the bundle in Ted`s arms with a mix of respect and admiration in his eyes. Ted looked at him expectantly.

"Firstly, due to the magical residue and desity found on and in the boy, we believe he was hit with the killing curse, and by the dark lord himself." Ted gasped loudly, his face rapidly drained of color. "Secondly, the reason he survived was due to a sacrificial ritual, based on blood magic, tied to his mother, I think. The interesting part regarding this, is that the ritual was created by using Parseltongue as a magical catalyst. That means his mother is also a Parselmouth," Sharpclaw spoke, while looking at the parchment in front of him. Ted, still ashen, looked down at the child in his arms.

"Thirdly, and this is very confusing indeed, is the fact that his magical core is bound. He only has access to about 25% of his magical core as is, even if he is already showing signs of accidental magic. Very unusual, indeed. The binds on his core, however, was placed with a delay, or a specific trigger, some time before the blood ritual was placed, for what reason and when, I cannot say," Sharpclaw looked thoughtful while staring at the parchment.

"Is there a way to remove the binds? Would it be safe to do so?" Ted looked worried while asking, not voicing his true fears, letting his tone ask for him.

"Unfortunately, it is impossible to do so. Little Harry needs to grow and release the bonds with age and experience. As for the size and stability of his magical core, I shall refer you to the history of the Potter males, specifically Charlus and his father Fleamont Potter. The males of the Potter family have a history of large magical cores, as well as steady growth leading up to their magical maturity and an exponential increase during their maturity," Sharpclaw looked at Ted with a serious expression, "I remember the late Lord Potter telling me that his maturity lasted for almost two weeks, as opposed to the standard six or seven days."

Ted stared off into an unknown distance before speaking softly, "So that means that he has a lot of potential to live up to, just like the rest of his family. My wife is setting up a meeting with Madam Bones, the Head of the DMLE, would we be able to hold the meeting here?"

"Tell Mr. Black, as well as Madam Bones to be here on Wednesday, at 11 o`clock, in the meeting room we sat in earlier. I will ensure that the meeting room is ready, the Potter Will released into my custody and any parties asking questions regarding the Potters or Mr. Black, be handled with utmost discretion. Give this to Mr. Black," Sharpclaw pushed a small card with the Gringotts logo on, across the table, "and tell him that this portkey will activate at 11 o`clock, on the dot, he must be ready. You and your wife, as well as the children, need to come through the floo or via apparition."

"Thank you Sharpclaw, we will be here," Ted said as he took his leave, walking back to the Apparition point with Harry, turning and disappearing back home.

**A/N: There we have it. Questions answered, more questions asked. Meetings planned and revelations made. **

**I wish to admit to the fact that there might be a few points and concepts that I will use that I found in various other fanfics, but I do not remember all the fics or authors. If anyone sees anything they recognize, please let me know what, and from where, by whom, so that I can give credit where it is due. It is not my wish to steal anything from hardworking members of the Potterverse, thus I would like to thank them for their stories and if anyone can help me in this regard, I would like to thank them directly as well as give them feedback on their respective ideas and stories. Peace out homies :D Leave them likes and reviews, Love ya'll long time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys, welcome back. This chapter will be serious (no pun intended, wink wink) for the most part. I am hoping to include one or two light hearted moments and set up some things for future chapters as well, but I have some, hopefully, good news. The next chapter will be a light hearted and fun filler chapter. That is my hope, in any case.**

**If dates don`t make sense, please let me know, I am trying to be as accurate as possible, but I might make mistakes. Sorry!**

**Without further ado, let us away!**

**Chapter 3 – Trail by Fire**

**Wednesday – 04/11/1981**

"Are we all set to leave? It is almost time," Ted asked, looking at his watch, while patting down his black robes, "Andi, where is Dora? Is she dressed?"

"Sirius is bringing them now, he is just finishing up with Harry quickly, then they will be here, don`t worry, we will be on time," Andromeda spoke up, while putting the final touches on her brown, curly hair.

At that point, Sirius came down the stairs, Harry dressed warmly in light blue clothes, his hair, difficult to contain, was jet black with crimson streaks, his viridescent eyes watching Andromeda attentively. Dora was dressed in a knee length lavender dress with frilly trims, one hand in Sirius`, while the other pulled at the dress, disgust etched on her face, her hair sporting green tips, matching her feeling about the dress.

"Mama! Why a dress? I don`t wanna!" Dora made herself heard, stomping her feet hard, gearing up for an epic tantrum, her hair starting to rapidly cycle through various, bright, angry colors.

"Dora," Andromeda sighed, kneeling down before her daughter, "I know how you feel about dresses, honey, but this is for a very important meeting. We need to look presentable, even mummy has to dress up today. If you behave, Uncle Sirius and I will take you and little Harry for ice-cream afterwards. Daddy will be too busy to come along with us."

"Can we really go for ice-cream, Uncle Paddy?" Dora looked up at Sirius, her big, purple eyes pleading with him to say yes.

"Of course, sweetheart," he said, smiling down at her, "you can have as many scoops as you want, without dropping any!" Dora squealed in delight, jumping up and down in excitement.

Andomeda took Harry from Sirius, while Ted lifted Dora on his hip, turning to Sirius, "It`s time, get the card. We`ll see you there just now," and walked out the door, locking behind them.

**0o0o0**

The portkey dropped Sirius in the middle of the meeting room assigned to them. He turned and surveyed the room, until the door opened and the Tonks' walked in, led by Sharpclaw.

"Mr. Black, I am glad to see that you could make it. Before we start with this meeting, I want to inform you that I want to speak to you after your hearing. It is in regards to your father's Will and his wishes for you," he looked at Sirius' confused expression and explained more thoroughly, "After your father passed away, your mother sealed his Will almost immediately after receiving the news, however, when she passed away, the Will was released again and is in my custody. In it, is your father's wish for you to take up the Black Lordship, as well as his seat in the Wizengamot."

"That selfish, manipulative, twisted, evil bitch!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Sirius! There are children present, mind your language!" Andromeda admonished him with a hand to the back of the head.

"That is the friendliest word I have ever used for her, you know this from experience. It also happens to be true. Me being a dog and her being my mother and all that," Sirius grumbled under his breath, rubbing the back of his head.

At that moment the door opened again, admitting the newly minted Head of the DMLE, her light auburn hair tied back and carrying an air of deserved importance and self-confidence. She surveyed the room, eyes hovering momentarily on every person in the room, until she locked eyes with Sirius.

"Amelia, it`s good to-"

"Don't, Mr. Black. If you want to exchange pleasantries, you are more than welcome to send an owl, requesting a meeting, after I help you out of this hole you found yourself in. Until then, you will address me as Madam Bones, Department Head Bones, or not at all. You lost the right to call me by my name years ago and you know it," Madam Bones glared at him with such intensity that he shrank down into his chair, almost disappearing underneath it, face pale and starting to sweat lightly.

Sharpclaw cleared his throat and started speaking, "Okay, now that we are all present, we will start with the important stuff first, the last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter, last updated a week before their passing, signed by the above mentioned, Mr. Black and myself also signed as witnesses," he opened and straightened out the parchment.

_**The Last Will and Testament of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter,**_

_**In the event of separate deaths, the surviving member will take care of our son, Harry James Potter, as well as get full access to the Potter Family Vault as access stands before the passing. **_

_**If, at the time of death, James Charlus Potter did not manage to take control of the Lordship of House Potter, Harry James Potter will automatically be announced as Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, with Lordship coming into effect after magical maturity ends or the age of 17 is reached, whichever happens first.**_

_**In the event of both parents passing away, Harry James Potter is released into the joint custody of his godfather, Sirius Orion Black, and his godmother, Alice Longbottom. They will be given full access to the Potter Trust Vault, containing the amount of 20 000 Galleons, filled yearly out of the Potter Family Vault. This Vault is to be used for the raising and caring of Harry James Potter.**_

_**At the age of 11, or at the earliest possible point, Harry James Potter should take a Heritage Test, as well as be made aware of his role of Heir and Lord of the House Potter. Once he receives his letter from Hogwarts, he will also receive his father`s Invisibility Cloak, as is tradition for the Potter family.**_

_**The Marauder's Map is hidden in Hogwarts. Look for the clues and find the way. Only a true Marauder can find it.**_

_**Alice Longbottom is to receive all jewelry and rings in a brown ornate box in the Potter Vault, as discussed and agreed upon after the wedding of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter.**_

_**In the event of both parents passing away while staying in Godric's Hollow, the following knowledge should be made public:**_

_**We went into hiding under the Fidelius Charm by request of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.**_

_**Those in the know, are under the impression that Sirius Orion Black was our Secret Keeper, but Peter Pettigrew was the true Secret Keeper, this was done to lessen the chances of us being located.**_

_**At the time of the writing of this Will, Peter Pettigrew started acting really suspicious, he is not to be trusted. He is an unregistered animagus with the form of a rat. It pains us to reveal this information, thus we hope this Will is not deemed necessary.**_

_**Lastly, in the event of our deaths, under no circumstances whatsoever, is our son, Harry James Potter, to go to Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley nee Evans. They harbor an intense hatred towards our family and the magical world as a whole and are to gain nothing from us.**_

_**James Charlus Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter**_

_**Lily Potter, nee Evans, future Lady to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter**_

_**Ex perseverantia, victoria**_

Sharpclaw put the Will down and looked around the room, Ted looked thoughtful, absorbing all the new information. Andromeda sat with Dora on her lap, keeping the young one busy. Madam Bones sat with a stack of parchment in front of her, scratching furiously with a long, beautiful green quill. Sirius stood to one side, bouncing Harry up and down, with a despondent look on his face, his grey eyes looking like storm clouds, waiting to break.

"There is also another piece of information you should be made aware of," Sharpclaw stated, his eyes focusing solely upon Sirius, "Albus Dumbledore tried to lay claim on the Potter Trust Vault, claiming magical guardian in absentia of Harry James Potter, stating you are unfit to look after the child and that he shall provide for his upbringing, along with the letter from the Chief Warlock`s office, asking for the Will to be sealed until such a time that it can be viewed by himself." At this point Sirius looked ready to explode, the bundle in his arms being the only reason for his restraint. Sharpclaw continued, before Sirius could say anything, "We told him that that would not be possible since the Will is already scheduled for a viewing in front of the Potter legal representatives, as well as the Head of the DMLE."

"I would also like to point out that he came by my office to file for an arrest warrant of one Sirius Orion Black, after I received the requests of my presence at this reading by both the Goblin Nation, As well as Mr. Tonks," Madam Bones stated, looking up at Sirius, her gaze penetrating his soul, "You will get your trial, Mr. Black. There is more than enough evidence to grant you your freedom, providing we can catch Mr. Pettigrew. You will be notified of your trial date in advance, by me personally." With that, she stood up, took her papers and a copy of the Will and left the room in purposeful strides.

"She hates me, I should have known she would. I need to make it up to her," Sirius spoke more to himself than anyone else, as he watched her leave.

**Two Months Later – Monday 11/01/1982**

"This emergency session of the Wizengamot is called to order," Albus Dumbledore stated, banging his gavel on the table, "Madam Bones, the floor is yours, please tell us why we all need to be here this early in the morning?"

Madam Bones stepped forward, clearing her throat and cast her eyes around the vast room and its current inhabitants and cleared her throat before starting, "This session has been called by me, as an emergency trial, before this council, for one Sirius Orion Black, on the charge of revealing information that led to the deaths of James Charlus Potter, Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, and would-be Lady Lily Potter, on the night of the 31st of October, 1981, bring in the accused."

The doors swung open among a loud sweeping roar in the chamber. People immediately started calling for his head. Sirius walked in, cuffed and flanked by two Aurors in black and blue robes. They set him in the seat in the middle of the floor and bound him to it.

"Sirius Orion Black, you have been informed of the charges against you, how do you plead?" Madam Bones looked at him with a piercing gaze, people continued shouting, until the Chief Warlock lifted his wand and set of three deafening bangs, silencing everyone.

"He is guilty! Send him to Azkaban, have him Kissed! There is no reason for this trial," Cornelius Fudge, current Minister of Magic, shouted, eliciting another round of jeers and votes for the Dementor`s Kiss. Another round of bangs silenced them, this time from Madam Bones herself.

"I plead not guilty. I request the use of Veritaserum," Sirius stated in a loud, clear voice. People started murmuring amongst themselves, looking at one another in confusion. It is not everyday that an accused criminal requests the use of Veritaserum.

"I would like to point out, for the record, that, with the permission of Mr. Black himself, as well as his lawyers, my Aurors spent the last week mentally breaking Mr. Black down under the supervision of Ministry approved Healers. There is no possible means for him to resist Veritaserum at this point," Madam Bones stated loudly, looking around the room.

"He will not be submitted to the serum! This whole session is a farce, he should be sent away immediately!" Minister Fudge spat, looking at Sirius with disgust etched on his face. He would do anything in his power to make sure this man pays for his crimes.

"Minister Fudge, do I need to remind you that you hold very little power here?" Madam Bones asked, "Your place here is merely a courtesy." She looked up at Dumbledore, who was stroking his beard in thought. She knew he had no way to deny the request, lest he be willing to face the political backlash of denying a request made with sufficient preparation.

"Administer the serum and ask your questions, Madam Bones," Dumbledore stated, watching over his half-moon glasses, his blue eyes darkening slightly.

A man marched down the aisle and administered the recommended three drops on the tip of Sirius` tongue and they waited for it to take effect. Madam Bones started questioning him as soon as his eyes glazed over.

"Is your name Sirius Orion Black?"

"Yes," Sirius`s monotone voice rang out in the silence.

Were you placed in Slytherin, while attending Hogwarts?"

"No," Sirius kept staring ahead, while answering.

"Did you know that James and Lily Potter was placed under the Fidelius Charm before their deaths?" Amelia looked directly at him, while the voices around them picked up slightly.

"Yes," Sirius answered.

"Were you their Secret Keeper at any point bofore their deaths?"

"No," came from Sirius again.

The voices started picking up in volume and Madam Bones looked at the people, silencing them again, before asking, "Who was their Secret Keeper?"

"Peter Pettigrew, he had to give me the address, everyone thought it was me to throw off any attempts at kidnapping or coercion," Sirius stated, immediately the voices rose exponentially, requiring Dumbledore to raise his wand again, to gain silence once more.

"Who placed the Fidelius Charm for the Potters?" Madam Bones asked, looking directly at Albus Dumbledore this time. The man in question, just kept looking on, impassive.

"Albus Dumbledore, he is also the one that requested my arrest, as well as the sealing of the Potter Will, which stated all of this," Sirius said, his voice carrying through the shocked silence that followed the first part of his statement. Dumbledore lost his calm demeanor and looked furious at this point.

"There you have it, ladies and gentleman. The Will in question, is right here and proved authentic by Gringotts, who handled the reading," Madam Bones stated, lifting the parchment in question up in the air, before continuing, "We also came across one Peter Francis Pettigrew a short while ago, he confessed immediately, claiming coercion. He is also an illegal animagus, in the form of a rat."

**Three hours later**

Sirius walked out of the courtroom, towards the Tonks family and Harry, a proven free man. After his visit with the goblins, he was also the newly named Lord Black, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black. While there, they also signed documents and took vows, making Ted and Andi Tonks the new magical Guardians of one Harry James Potter, with the knowledge that Sirius will be taking an active role in Harry`s education about all things magical and Lord-like, in the absence of his parents. He is still Harry`s father-figure in the eyes of the law, but due to the fact that they want a family life for him, the whole family would be moving into one of the Black estates, so that Harry and Dora can be raised together, by one, big, happy family.

Lord Black would spend a lot of time away from home cementing new deals and alliances in the coming years. Things were most definitely looking up for the new family.

**A/N: Thank goodness this is over and done with. Sirius` trial gave me such a headache, it is not even funny anymore! Luckily it turned out how I wanted it. I had to cut if off there with a nice little outro, otherwise I would have spent another 2 000 words on the rest of the trial alone. Summary time! Sirius is proven innocent, Peter is sent to super-max, Dumbles loses some influence because of his stunt. Fudge is a douche. Ted, Andi and Dora are all accepted back into the Black family tree.**

**I kept referring to Amelia as 'Madam Bones' for a very specific reason. She will play a bigger part in later chapters, but right now, she isn't fond of Sirius for good reasons and she is a frigid, no-nonsense new Department Head and nothing more.**

**The most important part for me here was the Will, that let to Sirius getting a fair trial.**

**I changed one item on the Will segment to help further the plot a little later 07/05/2019**

**SpareShiro2018, I hope you like my attempts at some funnies in this chapter. Really hope they crack you up!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Good morrow fellow fans. This is the fun filled filler I was talking about. Please note, I will occasionally make use of time skips, sometimes small, sometimes big, like this one. In this case, nothing too serious happens in the time skipped, but there will be mentions of events in minor fashion.**

**Forgot to mention in the last chapter. The Potter family motto in this story, **_**ex perseverantia, victoria**_**, means 'through perserverance, victory', and hold a lot of value in this story, in various forms.**

**Without further ado, let us away!**

**Chapter 4: Harry`s 6th Birthday**

**Thursday 31/07/1986**

The sun rose lazily over a neatly manicured field, surrounded by vast woods on all side. There are no access roads or trails that led to this specific field. Upon this field, sat a very stately manor, consisting of three floors, each floor standing at ten meters in height. This manor was not just stately, but palatial in size and opulency.

Due to the fact that it stood abandoned, until recently, it took quite a task force of House Elves to clean up and repurpose the seemingly endless rooms and halls. Some windows needed replacing, furniture needed repairing or replacing, floors needed buffing, statues needed polishing and, perhaps most dangerous, plantlife needed to be wrangled. All in all, this specific manor is well hidden and not frequently visited, but that matters not, for this is the world of magic!

Two children came running down the great marble staircase, in the center of the entrance hall. They chased each other toward the main dining hall, followed by a big, pitch black dog, sliding around corners and bumping into walls. The dog had very unique grey eyes. The two children had identical hairstyles of long, flowing locks, with orange lengths and crimson tips. Both children were laughing loudly, while running down the halls, until they got to the dining hall, where two adults sat with food in front of them. The black dog overtook the children at this point and started changing into a man with long, shaggy black hair, tied behind his head. The man turned around and scooped up both laughing children as they crashed into him.

"Paddy! Paddy!" came from the children, both of their heads changing to different shades of blue. They lept off and made their way to the table, sitting own and dishing up bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs and toast, before digging in, each with a glass of orange juice in front of them.

"Happy birthday, Harry!" the three adults called out to the smiling boy sitting in front of them. Andi pulled out a package from below the table and put it down in front of Harry. Sirius pulled out a long box from behind the door and put it next to Harry. He smiled brightly, while opening the box from Andi and Ted.

"An Introduction To Magical Creatures," Harry read the title of the thick, leather-bound book in his hands, his face full of awe and wonder, "Thank you so much, this is amazing!"

"We know how much you love animals, Harry, so we thought that might be the ideal gift for you," Ted said when Harry hugged them tightly. He ran back to the gift Sirius got for him, he ripped the paper off and pulled the box open and looked at it in awe, it was a slightly smaller version of a regular broom.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Harry exclaimed loudly, pulling the broom out of the box and looking at it reverently. Sirius started laughing when Harry zipped around the room, with Dora chasing after him, begging for a turn as well.

Harry received a few more gifts and letters from various other parents of children his age, as well as allies of the Houses Black and Potter, hoping to establish future alliances or, at the very least, initiating the start of future friendships. He also received a letter that wishes him well from Narcissa Malfoy, who, after the arrest of her husband, started contacting Sirius in hopes of remaining part of the Black family after he took up Lordship and took away Draco`s Heirship.

Sirius was also busy waging a war on publishing houses across magical Britain over a series of books called 'The Adventures of the Boy-Who-Lived', but it is a very tedious process, as the publishing houses claim that the title is not trademarked and Sirius doesn`t have proof to point that it has any connection to young Harry Potter, but little do they know, that with every statement they make, Ted keeps digging their hole wider and deeper. By Harry`s 11th birthday, he would receive 40% of all proceeds made by the books, 30% will be donated to orphaned children of witches and wizards, while the rest goes to the publishing houses.

At that minute, they heard a woosh coming from the adjacent room and Harry rushed to go greet the guests on his broom, Dora following closely behind him. He came to a halt in front of a timid, chubby boy with short hair, holding onto an elderly woman, dressed in a horrible, off-pink cardigan, with a wide brim hat with a stuffed vulture on it, a fox-fur scarf around her neck. The boy`s face was slightly red, as if he over-exerted himself.

"Hello Neville! Happy birthday for yesterday, I hope you like the gift we got for you," Harry said, looking towards Neville, before turning to Madam Longbottom, "It is good to see you again, Madam Longbottom, everyone will be here soon." He bowed slightly, while Dora gave a small curtsey. Madam Longbottom nodded to them and took her hat off, while the children started talking among themselves.

"Young Mr. Longbottom, Augusta, welcome to my home! Please, make yourselves comfortable. We will leave in a while, there is enough time for a cup of tea, I am sure," Sirius said, making his way over to Madam Longbottom, bowing and gently kissing the back of her hand. After all the pleasantries were exchanged, they made their way to the living room, to drink some tea and talk about various happenings of note.

After a while, Sirius stood up and announced, "Alright kids! Front and center!" The kids came running after a few moments and lined up in front of him, snickering, Harry saying something about 'mutts', "I heard that, young man! Come now children, we will be leaving now and no, I am not telling you. It is a surprise. Harry and Dora is with me, Neville with Madam Longbottom and lastly, Ted and Andi. Now, let`s go," he announced, marching toward the front door, followed closely by the children, then the rest of the adults as they made their way down the stone walkway, past the wards, to apparate away.

Moments later, they appeared a little while away from big wrought-iron gates with gold inlays in the form of various animals in different states of frivolity. They walked through the gates and Sirius handed a man in a booth some tickets, he looked at it, waved a wand over it and handed the tickets back to Sirius. They proceeded down the cobblestone walkway and Harry pulled on Sirius` arm, trying to get his attention.

"Welcome to the Irish National Magical Zoo, there are a massive amount of creatures in this zoo, all of them with their own habitats and environments. The habitats are so big and the animals so well cared for, that most don`t notice the captivity. Also the caretakers here are very talented and gifted. They all have Master qualifications for Care of Magical Creatures. This, Harry, Neville, is our other gift to the two of you," Sirius looked at them with a massive smile on his face. Harry and Dora were bouncing up and down in barely concealed joy. Neville stood next to Harry merely looking around him in awe at his surroundings.

Sirius led them all to the first display, which looks like a bog on top of hot springs. The steam rising through the mud, made it bubble, like a couldron of polyjiuce potion. As they looked on, they saw a two meter long black and red shape move in the mud. The nameplate close to them, informed them that they are looking at different types of Salamanders, the most common being the Fire Salamander, which they saw immediately, judging by the flames being spewed from its mouth. They looked on for a while longer, before moving on through various displays containing Crups, Bowtruckles, pixies and the like. Following the main walkway, they ended up in front of the access route to the massive open-air pens, protected with wards. They had a big surprise waiting for them at the first display.

"Look at this, Harry," Sirius said, pointing to the nearby trees in the one encampment. They looked over and saw two Griffins making their way over to the fences, the bigger one had a rust-brown mane of feathers surrounding its head. As they approached, Dora got excited and ran up to the fence. The bigger Griffin immediately darted in front of the smaller one, rising up and beating its wings, scratching the earth with its claws, screeching loudly. Harry jumped forward, pulled Dora behind himself so hard that she fell on the ground, looking bewildered, tears in her eyes. Harry raised his arms, in protection, and looked the Griffin straight in the eyes.

"No, don`t move a muscle, sir," the approaching caretaker warned, pulling on Sirius` arm, when he tried to go up to Harry.

"He is my godson, I need-" Sirius started.

"No, there are wards, the little one doesn`t know this. The Griffin is testing him. Watch," the caretaker said, pointing toward the Griffins. Harry, in all his 6 year old glory, kept his eye contact with the large Griffin. Said Griffin, stopped scratching, but still had his wings expanded, up high. Harry dropped his arms slowly, maintaining his posture. He started walking toward the fence line, not intimidated by the male in front of him. A few steps away fom the fence, he stopped and bowed slowly at the waist. The Griffin looked at him, pushed one leg forward, bowing his head toward the ground for a few seconds, before turning away and left with the smaller Griffin slightly behind him.

"You see, the kid is a natural! That is amazing. The Alpha male of this pack of Griffins, is a very tempremental piece of work. No one can come close to any of them. We have to contact the owner if they get sick. The owner hand-reared that specific male," the caretaker explained, watching Harry as he helped a teary-eyed and terrified Dora to her feet. Dora clutched him tightly around his arm the whole way back to the adults.

"Are you okay, young lady?" the caretaker asked as he knelt down in front of Harry and Dora. When Dora nodded, he continued, "Young man, you have a gift. I understand it is your birthday? I want to show you and your family something truly amazing, maybe you two can help me with a problem as well. What do you say?" he whispered to them. Harry looked at Dora and she nodded slowly and tentatively. The caretaker stood up and told everyone to follow him. They made their way up to a densely wooded area, a ways off from the path they followed.

"What I am about to show you, is something that only a handful of the employees here, knows about, and nobody else," the gamekeeper told them when they stopped at the edge of a clearing. He took Dora`s and Harry`s hand in his and led them, while speaking to the rest, "Please stay as far back as possible, these creatures are very shy and will run or defend themselves, especially right now." He led them deeper into the clearing. They came upon two beautiful creatures, one lying down and the other standing. As they got closer, the standing one, a beautiful, magestic, silver-white unicorn turned to them and started moving in front of a heavily pregnant female. He started bouncing on his front legs, snorting at them, moving his head up and down, threateningly.

"Harry," the gamekeeper whispered, "remember the Griffin? This is exactly the same, this male is protecting the mother of his foal. You have to be confident and do the same as you did with the Griffin. Don`t worry, I am right here if anything goes wrong." He slowly moved one step backwards, slightly behind Harry.

Harry lifted his arms protectively in front of Dora and the gamekeeper, while looking the male unicorn directly in the eyes, standing tall and proud. The unicorn kept snorting and digging the ground with his hooves, moving one step forward. Harry stepped forward, dropped his arms and bent stiffly at the waist, maintaining eye contact with the male unicorn. The unicorn stopped and looked at him for going on two minutes, before bowing deeply and turning back to the female, still keeping them in his view.

Harry approached them slowly, Dora and the gamekeeper following behind him, both in awe at the six year old in front of them. Harry stepped next to the big male and lifted his hand up, asking permission to touch him. The unicorn dipped his head and Harry placed his hand on his flank, slowly rubbing up his side, to his neck. He stepped toward the female`s head and knelt down, gently putting his hand on her snout, rubbing up and down, comforting her, while the gamekeeper knelt behind her rear, Dora stood a few steps away, watching the sight before her.

After about half an hour, the most beautiful foal stood up on wobbly legs, trying to jump over to his father, while the mare stood up and nuzzled Harry with her wet nose. The foal joined her by Harry`s side, falling against him. When the group moved away, the male unicorn moved up to Harry, pushing the flat of his nose against Harry, his horn over Harry`s shoulder, then turned around, whipping his tail in Harry`s direction, loosening a few strands, that adhered to Harry`s wool jersey.

The gamekeeper gasped and his eyes lit up as he watched the unicorns move away. Moments later they were joined by the rest of their group, while the gamekeeper transferred the hairs into a glass vial he pulled from his jacket.

"This, young man, is a great honor. That male just willingly gave you hairs from his own tail, a sign of immense respect," the gamekeeper told Harry, then explained it all to the others and their faces lit up with wonderment and amusement.

Soon after, they finished up and made their way back home, all of them with various degrees of shock and awe at what they experienced. All in all, they all deemed it a very eventful and happy day. Harry, Dora and Neville spent the rest of the afternoon chasing each other around the property under the bemused supervision of the adults.

**A/N: I loved writing this chapter, but it took me a lot longer than I wanted it to. Even though this was meant to be a filler chapter, the interactions with the griffins and unicorns will hold importance soon enough. Please note that some character traits will differ from canon. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: First of all, I would like to thank everyone that is following my story up until this point, you all found a space in my heart and it warms me to see the stats as I go.**

**From this point on, chapter lengths will vary more than they currently do, I want to start going into greater details and put pieces into position for future chapters.**

**Next, I have a question for you guys. Should I split my fic up per year, or lump it all together as one massive orgy of HP goodness? Eg. Part one is Voldemort`s attack up to end of Harry`s first year at Hogwarts, part two being shortly after the end of part 1 up to the end of second year, so on and so forth. What say you?**

**Without further ado, let us away!**

**Chapter 5 – Rising from the ashes**

**Tuesday, 31st of July, 1990**

Harry Potter woke up to the sound of a dog barking close by, opening his eyes and rubbing the sleep away, he looked to the side and saw a big, shaggy black dog looking at him. He sat upright and the dog jumped on the bed, immediately licking his face and hair. He started laughing loudly, his long hair changing from its characteristic jet-black and crimson, to a metallic blue. The dog jumped of the bed and jumped in circles, before looking at him again.

"Okay, okay. I`m coming! Just let me get dressed first, Padfoot," Harry said, smiling down at the dog, before it bounded down the hall, followed by a loud squeal, broken giggles and a big crash.

"Paddy! Go away!" came from a laughing Dora a few doors down. Padfoot came running down the hall again, towards the stairs. The commotion caused Harry to smile at himself as he washed up and got dressed. He looked at himself in the mirror, buttoning up his white shirt, pulling on a matte black sleeveless vest and looked at the robes in his wardrobe.

"Take the one with the red trim, it goes well with your hair," came from Dora standing at the door. Harry turned to her, his hair turning compeletely red, before he allowed it to return to normal. Dora looked at him with her big violet eyes, almost peering into his very soul, her hair shoulder length and in its usual light blue with a white stripe running from her fringe, tucked behind her ear.

"Happy birthday, Harry," she said, bouncing over to him and pulling him into a tight hug, a mischiveous smirk on her face as she went on, "I hate that you are as tall as I am, now I can`t lean on you anymore!" She turned and ran down the hall, leaving a stunned Harry, that took a few seconds to catch on and start chasing her, feeling a primal urge to growl at her, bubbling in his chest.

"Paddy, stop him! He wants to hurt me!" Dora shouted as they made their way into the kitchen, taking cover behind Sirius, who turned on her and started tickling her mercilessly. Harry made his way over to Andi and Ted, who wished him a happy birthday and each giving him a hug, while laughing at the scene in front of them.

Sirius let go of Dora to go over to Harry. Dora huffed and shook the yellow from her hair as she playfully glared at the two, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at Sirius and said, "Be glad I don`t have my wand yet! I have a good mind to hex you both!"

"That`s not the proper way for a lady to-"

"Good thing I`m not a lady then!" Dora interrupted, before Harry could finish his statement.

"Dora, that reminds me, when Sirius, Harry and your dad goes to Gringotts, we`ll go buy all your things for Hogwarts. We`ll need to get you an owl as well. We can`t send Nobby with you, dear," Andi spoke absently as she dished up food for them all. Dora sat down, deep in thought, having been fearing this trip ever since she got her letter on her birthday four months ago.

Harry and Dora received a joint gift from Sirius, an ancient leather bound tome with flowing, silver writing across the spine and a big version of the Black family crest covering the entire front cover, a golden border surrounding the crest. The book`s name is 'A Metamophmagus` Journal'. The book will give them a much better idea of the extent of their abilities, as well as help to learn to control it better, as it is essentially a diary that was passed down the Black family from one metamorph to the next, along with personalised training. Seeing as Harry and Dora were the last metamophs alive, Sirius took it upon himself to teach them all he could, going so far as to start teaching them Occulomency as well, although he insists that the Occulomency was also for ulterior motives, that for the time-being, would remain a 'Marauders` Secret', whatever that means.

The second gift Harry received, is the same as Dora`s from a few months ago and his reaction is also exactly the same. He received a brand new Nimbus 2000, along with a high end broom care kit. The broom came with all manner of enchantments, such as cushioning charms, anti-sliding charms and heating charms for cold weather, to name a few. The best feature, is the shrinking charm, that allows for better storage. He started crying with joy as soon as he saw it. Dora just looked at him, with a big smile across her face. Their races would get a lot more interesting now.

"Harry, have you found your mindscape yet?" Sirius asked Harry as they finished off the last of their breakfast. They would be going any moment now and stil had some preparations to do.

"I... I am not sure. I know it`s cold, feels like it is snowing, I think," Harry said, scratching his head. Dora perked up at this and spoke up, "Mine feels like humid and wet and almost forest-like, I think." Sirius looked at them and smiled.

"Why are you doing this with them, Sirius? Is it something to do with their abilities?" Andi asked, looking confused.

"No, no, nothing like that! I will tell them later today, though," Sirius said vaguely, waving them off, getting ready to leave.

**0o0o0**

Sharpclaw led Sirius, Ted and Harry into one of the smaller conference rooms in Gringotts. They all sat down on the leather chairs provided, around a big, round, mahogany table. Sharpclaw moved some parchments around in front of him and took out an inkwell and a gold and brown feathered quill out of a dark dragon hide briefcase. He adjusted everything evenly and cleared his throat, looking at those in front of him.

"Well, Mr. Potter. First off, let me welcome you to Gringotts. My clan and your family goes back a long way and I hope we can continue doing business together," Sharpclaw said, nodding his head at Harry.

"Mr. Sharpclaw, it is an honor to finally meet you. I want to thank you on behalf of my family, for what you did for us when I was a baby. That being said, may your gold flow just like the blood of your enemies," Harry said, standing up and bowing before the goblin.

"Please Mr. Potter, sit down. I admire your respect, so I will not dwell too much on the past, but on a hopefully prosperous future. Here I have the Heritage Test, as stated in your father`s Will, as well as a box from your grandfather, that was left with me on the day of your birth. We can proceed with whichever you want first," he said, looking at Harry, while pushing a parchment and an ornate golden dagger, along with a gift-wrapped box and a letter towards the middle of the table.

Harry decided to rip the band-aid off, so to speak, and pull the parchment and dagger toward himself. He picked up the dagger and inspected it for a few seconds, then closed his right hand around the blade and pulled it out with his left, clenching his fist over the parchment. After a small stream of blood splashed onto the parchment, the wound sealed itself. The blood seeped into the parchment and after a few moments, it started filling out into red script that looked a lot like Harry`s handwriting.

Sharpclaw summoned the parchment from across the table, turned it around and inspected it:

_**Harry James Potter (Born on 31st of July 1980)**_

_**Father: James Charlus Potter**_

_**Mother: Lily Potter nee Evans**_

_**Noticable traits: Affinity with Magical creatures (via Potter Family)  
Metamorphmagus (via Dorea Potter nee Black)  
Parselmouth (via Mother)**_

_**Inheritable titles: Potter, Peverell, Slytherin**_

_**Potter: Inherited from Father as last surviving member of the House of Potter, claimable after magical maturity or at the age of 17  
Peverell: See above, claimable upon reuniting the lost family artifacts, details of which are in the hands of the Potter account manager  
Slytherin: Inherited from Mother, last living descendant capable of claiming title. Instructions for claiming can be found in Vault 4 (V-00004)**_

"What?! How is that possible? Lily was a muggle-born! Her parents and sister are all muggles," Sirius exclaimed, jumping out of his seat, grabbing the parchment and stared at the family tree diagram that appeared at the bottom. His face paled instantly and he started sweating.

"As you can see, Mr. Black, it is not a mistake," Sharpclaw sniped, glaring at Sirius, before continuing, "It appears that Miss Potter was born into a squib line, that started with the first and only son of Salazar Slytherin`s third son. This title is going to you as this line is the only line of continuation available to the Slytherin family. The only other family that would have stood a chance at claiming the title, was the Gaunt family, the last member of which went extinct, because of you Mr. Potter," Sharpclaw said, looking at Harry.

"What do you mean, because of me? How can I inherit the title then? Do I want the title even?" Harry asked, incredulous at what he is hearing. Sharpclaw pulled another piece of parchment out and looked it over.

"Well, Mr. Potter, the last member of the Gaunt family, was one Tom Marvolo Riddle Junior, better known by wizards and witches as the Dark Lord Voldemort, now confirmed to be dead. The reason he claimed to be the Heir of Slytherin, but could not take the title, is because at the time he fell so far into the dark, that he could not show his face in Diagon Alley, much less get into Gringotts," Sharpclaw surveyed the pale faces before him, Harry looked more confused than anything, then he added, "That is why you are hailed as the Boy-Who-Lived, Mr. Potter."

"Oh yes, I heard about that..." Harry said, looking down at the table, his mood plummeting very fast. He toyed with some loose fabrics on his robes, while Sirius sat down next to him again, wrapping his arm around Harry`s shoulders, pulling him closer.

"Mr. Potter, Harry, why don`t you look at that box, while I run to get you access to your new vaults. Just keep in mind, that being the heir to three old families, you will now have a lot of gold for us to look after," Sharpclaw said, standing up adnd heading for the door.

Harry pulled the box closer and took the envelope attached. He cracked the seal and opened the parchment, looking at the elegant script covering the page.

_**Dear Harry,**_

_**I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. If you are reading this, then I did not survive the war and will not be able to see you or your parents on your tenth birthday, much to my dismay.**_

_**Even if your grandmother and I can not be there for you, I do hope that this gift would be able to provide some easement and companionship in your good and bad times.**_

_**One of the books contained within this box, is a book that explains the Potter family and their connection to Magical creatures. The other being a book on caring and raising a hatchling.**_

_**I had an amazing companion, that was left to me by my father, and his father before him. This companion helped me through very difficult times and helped me meet your grandmother as well. (Although, she will never admit it to be true)**_

_**My companion, a phoenix, her name was Helios (ha ha I know), her last burning day was a few weeks after your birth and she left me with a very precious gift. She left me with the only egg she ever produced, over all her years. It is this egg that I leave with you, in the hopes that you find companionship.**_

_**With this I say farewell, I hope you have a long and successful life.**_

_**Your loving grandfather,**_

_**Lord Charlus Potter, Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter**_

Harry had tears in his eyes as he opened the box and looked at an egg, about the same size as an ostrich`s, with two books, spines up, next to the egg. Harry took out the egg just as Sharpclaw came in with two notes, one with green trims and one with crimson trims.

"I see you found the egg, your grandfather asked us to place a stasis charm on it and release it in your presence, but only if you are alone in the room, as phoenix chicks are known to imprint on the first living thing they see, forming a deep, mutual, emotional and magical bond, that will serve as a familiarity bond," Sharpclaw said as he ushered the other men out and released the charm, before following the men and closing the door.

Harry stood there, looking at the egg, feeling it heat up and slowly start to form cracks, from which the egg seemed to melt away, leaving a pink chick on a molten pile of egg shells. The chick had a few feathers here and there. The feathers on its body is white, with red and orange edges, whereas the feathers on its head, is white with emerald green edges.

Harry admired the chick in front of him with wide eyes and an open mouth. The chick looked up at him and he felt a warmth spread throughout his body. Harry scooped the chick up in his hands, it started making little squeaking noises and he laughed softly and said, "Hedwig... You look like a Hedwig to me, what do you think?"

Sharpclaw and the other men entered the room again after a few minutes. The goblin looked at Harry and the small phoenix and said, "I see that you were successful, I feel that I must congratulate you and ask that we continue with the rest of the meeting, if you please."

The rest of the meeting was spent with Harry reading the letters from the Peverell and Slytherin accountants. The Peverell letter explained , in great detail, about the Deathly Hallows and how uniting the Invisibility Cloak, the Resurrection Stone and the Elder Wand, will make one the Master of Death, as well as the Head of the Peverell Family, inheriting their family magic and accumilative funds in their vaults. The Slytherin letter was written in Parseltongue. The letter explained that if he can read the letter, he has the right to enter the vaults. The first vault contained a large amount of gold, that the goblins could only now start calculating, as the vault was sealed for almost 1 000 years. The second vault contained a large marble pedestal in the middle of the room. On the pedestal, rested an ancient leather tome and a ebony, wooden box. Harry opened the tome and saw that it, also, was written in Parseltongue. The first page was a piece of parchment that was stuck into the spine edge.

_**Dear reader,**_

_**If you came upon this book and box, that means that an heir has been named as my father wished. This is his personal tome, for the use of future heirs to live up to what he expected from his family. This book can only be opened and used by one that contains the blood of my father.**_

_**Open the box by this book and put on the ring. If you are the heir to our family, the ring should accept you and warm up. **_

_**Also, keep this book with you at all times, as will be your guide to be the best heir that you can be. Read the book and you will see that my father was not how everyone made him out to be.**_

_**Yours truly,**_

_**Salazar Slytherin Jr.**_

Harry stroked the page, closed the book and picked up the ebony ring box. Opening the box slowly, he is greeted by a black metallic ring, with an almost glowing emerald set on top of it. The Slytherin crest was engraved in the emerald. Harry took the ring out of the box and put it on his middle finger on his right hand. He felt cold sweeping through him and settling in his bones before slowly disappating, to be replaced by a slight heat coming from the ring. Looking at it, he saw it disappear. Thinking of the ring again, it reappeared, much to his delight.

Harry slowly picked up the leather bound tome and moved to put it in his robe pocket, and much to his surprise, it shrunk down to fit. He turned and headed back to the door and told Sirius and Ted that they can leave if they are ready.

**0o0o0**

Harry, Sirius and Ted emerged from the floo at Black Manor. Harry carried the small Hedwig in his one hand and a stand in the other, making his way toward the stairs, when he heard someone running down the hall. Harry turned and saw Dora on her way over, a slim box in her hand. Dora stopped when she saw the bird sitting in Harry`s hand and squealed loudly, bouncing the rest of the way, a massive smile crossing her face.

"Look! Look! Who is this little one?" Dora asked, stuffing the slim box into Harry`s hand and looking at Hedwig, reaching her hands out and picking the little chick up.

"Her name is Hedwig, she is a phoenix and a gift from my grandfather," Harry said, looking at the look of pure awe and joy on Dora`s face, then asked, "What is your wand made out of? It is beautiful..." Harry looked at the off-white length of wood lying before him.

"It is ash and dragon heartstring, 34.2 centimeters," Dora said destractedly, admiring the small phoenix. She started making cooing sounds and the adults started chuckling at her. Harry took out the book titled 'Phoenixes, Caring and Bonding with the Eternal Flame', opened it and started reading while Dora fawned over Hedwig.

"It`s so unfair! You get a phoenix and I got a raven. I called him Cuddles. Get it, it`s funny!" Dora exclaimed. The little baby shrilled under her ministrations as Harry started preparing something for her to eat. He helped Dora feed Hedwig while saying, "The book says that phoenixes grow and mature very fast. By Christmas break, she`ll be fully grown. If we encourage her abilities, we can use her flame travel to get you back to the castle after break!" Harry started laughing as Dora looked at him, awestruck.

"Do you have everything you need for your first year? I am so jealous, I also want to go!" Harry told Dora and she giggled excitedly as she led Harry to show him everything they got, along with the extra book so she could study ahead. Sirius tries to make a point of getting them prepared ahead of time. He is teaching them a year ahead, in some subjects two years.

Harry is already on second year level with Defence Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration, but still stuck on his first year work on Potions and the other coe subjects. He hasn`t even considered doing anything for History of Magic. Dora is basically on the same level as he is, but since she is a year ahead of him, she also started looking into electives for third year, to see what she would like to learn. Harry and Dora both had similiar subjects in mind for O.W.L`s and N.E.W.T`s, so they know where to focus more of their efforts.

"So, you two," Sirius said, leaning against Dora`s doorframe, "I want to talk to the two of you about something that you need to keep to yourselves for the time being." Sirius moved forward and plopped himself down on the floor, waiting for them to focus on him.

"You know that I explained to you about Animagi and what that means. You also know how I have been teaching you Occulomency, defending your minds and how to let your mindscape manifest itself and using that as a basis to tap into your magical cores," Sirius explained to them, to which they nodded and looked at him with hope shining in their eyes at more lessons.

"Okay, what would you say if I told you there is a lot more to it than you know so far?" he asked, looking at them both as they sat more upright, smiling.

"Well, I was working on a theory that I didn`t think will be possible, because you are both Metamorphmagi. It seems, though, that my plan might work, since you have both settled into your abilities nicely with the book I got you. What I taught you, are the first steps to becoming Animagi," Sirius said, starting to smile, as the children in front of him were practically bouncing up and down.

"Your meditation and mindscape ventures are very important, as it will help you manifest your animal spirits and help with your transformations. By the pace you two are following, you might even be complete before the Marauders finished!" He barked out a laugh as they really started bouncing.

**A/N: Next chapter will be the start of Harry`s journey to Hogwarts. I hope you guys like the setup so far, I really want to focus on the friendships and character developments more than gorey, killey stuff XD**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I want to thank the reviewer that pointed out that I made a mistake regarding Slytherin and the vaults, changed it to 1 000 years inactive, hope that helps.**

**I also want to name something else that was brought up and since I can`t adress the reviewer directly, I shall lay it before everyone(although I am sure, they won`t see it)**

**This is NOT a harem fic. This is NOT a OP Harry fic. This is NOT a 20 000 Lordships Harry fic (exaggeration for effect). Harry will be stronger than canon, yes. Harry will be smoother than canon. He will be what he was supposed to be if he grew up in a normal, loving home. Sirius is helping them be extra prepared yes, so they will also be smarter, but I just ask that people stick with it. This is my first fic, after all.**

**Harry won`t be able to claim Peverell, and the Slytherin lordship means nothing as he is too young and I am not setting him up for politics or 20 wives, so it is basically just there for background.**

**To those quietly reading and waiting in the background, I see you! I salute you as well. **

**Okay, rant over. Sorry. This one feels like de ja vu though, don`t know why.**

**Let us away!**

**Chapter 6 – A Whole New World**

**Wednesday, 7th of August 1991**

Harry laughed loudly as he felt the wind rip through his shoulder length black and red hair. He normally tied his hair up when flying, but he wanted to be a little more carefree today. He pulled up on the broom and shot up into the air, higher and higher, until he stopped, pulled back and started falling backwards, letting the broom go with his legs so that he only had one hand on it. He started a free fall backwards and turned his shoulder just a little, to avoid the small feminine hand grasping for his shirt, leaving a stunned Dora up in the air as he fell towards the ground some 100 meters below him. Slowly, he climbed back in his broom and shot faster toward the ground, before pulling up and slowing down as Dora got closer. Harry started yelling loudly in excitement as he jumped off of his broom.

"Are you crazy?! You could have killed yourself!" Dora yelled at him, when she got to him, her face flushed, hair a vivid grass green, her violet eyes looking straight through him.

"Relax, Dora! I know what I am doing. Look, I am fine!" Harry told her, laughing, adrenaline still coursing through his started laughing harder at the dumbfounded expression on Dora`s face. She stalked over to him and punched him on this chest, eliciting a groan from Harry, rubbing his chest.

"God, you`re a moron! You scared me to death," Dora huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and stalking away, leaving Harry to take their brooms back. Harry followed behind her, feeling stupid. He started thinking that perhaps that wasn`t the best idea, especially during broom-tag.

They trekked back to the Manor and Harry stored their brooms and hurried after Dora as she made her way to the kitchen for lunch. Harry sat down next to Sirius, about to talk when Dora cut across him.

"He`s a friggin` moron, Padfoot. He almost got himself killed out there, because he acts like you," Dora said, kicking Harry`s shin under the tabled, causing him to yelp loudly.

"What did you do now, pup?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry next to him.

"Nothing, we were playing broom-tag and i just-,"

"Just decided to climb off his broom, 100 meters in the air, and drop out of the air! It was friggin` terrifying!" Dora cut across Harry, causing Sirius to drop the smile he had on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, anger sparking in his eye as he clenched his fist under the table.

"Padfoot, you know I can handle myself on a broom. As soon as I dropped past Dora, I got back on and landed safely, I didn`t mean to scare anyone," Harry said, looking down at his plate, pushing his food around with his fork.

"That was fucking stupid, is what that was," Sirius shot at him, earning him a slap across the head from Andi, who just regained her composure. Dora started eating her food slowly, grumbling under her breath about stupid boys and hexes. Sirius breathed in and out a few times and looked at Harry, his face softening.

"Look, Harry, I know you are a natural flyer, just like your dad. He scared your mother senseless more times than I care to admit, professor McGonagall as well, for that matter. Even if you are good, don`t be reckless, especially if there is no help nearby," Sirius told him, before leaning closer to whisper into his ear, "Now, go tell Dora you are sorry. You scared her half to death. She`s still pale."

Harry nodded his head, stood up and walked around the table. He hugged Dora from behind, his head tucked against her neck and spoke softly, "I`m sorry, Dora. I didn`t mean to scare you, I was just messing around." Dora leant against his arms and just whispered for him not to do it again.

"Come kids, time to go. We need to go buy your school supplies. Hopefully the Alley isn`t too busy," Andi spoke up while the elf, Tofty, cleared the table. Everyone got up and started getting ready to depart. Harry and Dora made their way down the steps into the main foyer, both straightening their casual robes and pulling their hair into pony tails, with bands that they keep on their right arms. They have formed a sort of synchronicity with their movements, since they do almost everything together, practicing, shopping, etc. Sirius always laughed at them when they acted like that, telling them that they almost look like twins.

"Harry, when do you plan on cutting your hair?" Sirius asked as they stepped up to the fire place. Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius, before saying, "You know that we can adjust the length of our hair at will. I also like it long, because if it is short, it is untameable. Same with why I don`t need glasses anymore. That book you got us really helps with trivial problems like eyesight and unruly hair." Dora laughed out loud before stepping into the fireplace and vanishing in a green flash of flames. The rest of them followed shortly after her.

As they made their way down Diagon Alley, Harry and Dora looked very excited about all the shops they would be able to visit. After successfully adding to their growing libraries, they made their way over to the potions and writing supplies stores to get stationary and ingredients. Harry pulled Dora to Quality Quidditch Supplies, so that they could get everything they needed for the foreseable future. They stocked up their broomcare kits and bought gloves and pads and the like, before continuing. As they made their way down the Alley, Padfoot walked past Harry on his left, before transforming again, looking over his shoulder, releasing a long held breath.

"What was that about?" Harry asked Sirius, looking behind him, seeing a group of redheaded people, that look like a family, walking in the opposite direction.

"The Weasleys, mother, father and seven children. If they saw me, I would never get away. The Weasleys and Dumbledore have been trying to recruit me back under the banner of the 'Light' for the past four years. They seem to be under the impression that if you don`t follow their 'muggles are amazing, we need to embrace them' mantra, you are a pureblood bigot and a dark wizard.," Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders, grumbling something about light and dark extremes being stupid and childish. He really didn`t see the point in the divides in the political spheres. It made no sense, wizards and witches should look after each other and keep their existence a secret from muggles. Muggle-borns are another story, however, as their parents are notified of the existence of magic. Sometimes, however, the parents resent their children for being 'freaks', which leads to belittlement and abuse, or even worse in some cases. That is why Sirius wanted nothing to do with either the 'Light' or the 'Dark', thus he made subtle enquiries and started forming alliances that are currently working toward equilizing the two factions.

Currently, Sirius is leading the charge under the united banners of Black and Potter, along with families like Greengrass, Bones, Abbott and a few minor and mixed blood families that support in different areas. There are also a few families on either side that feel unhappy with the way things are, and as such, are considering joining Sirius.

Sirius shook the cobwebs from his mind and kept walking down the alley, they still had a few stops to make before they can head home. Harry led the group to Magical Menagerie, he wanted to have a look at what they have in the way of treats and such for phoenixes,seeing as Hedwig is starting to act like a naughty child, always stealing and hiding stuff. Harry had to beg her to give his broom back on more than a handful of occasions.

Harry walked out of the store with a little red and blue ball that looked a lot like a snitch. The owner of the store said that it will fly around Hedwig and give high pitch whistles to draw her attention and then fly away from her, keeping her busy when she gets in one of her moods. If he wanted to deactivate it, he just needs to set a passphrase that will turn it off, then the same to activate it again.

Harry looked at all the kids and adults walking around the Alley and wondered how many of them will be joining him for their first year at Hogwarts this year. He tried to file the faces away, just in case he saw them in school. He even thought he saw some people that he did know, others were pointed out to him by Sirius and Andi.

Walking past some book stores, Harry felt seriously glad that he looked nothing like the public thought he did. The Boy-Who-Lived book series protrayed him to look like a copy of his father, messy, black hair, round rim glasses, but with emerald green eyes. He was taller than portayed in the books. His hair was longer and had the crimson streaks in. He didn`t need glasses, like when he was even younger. He was more filled out, not skinny. His face was also a little sharper. If anything, he looked more like a mixture of his grandmother and mother, he didn`t look like a Potter at all.

They made their way to Madam Malkin`s to get Harry fitted for school robes as well. The group decided to split up at the door. Harry and Sirius entered the store, Andi and Dora made their way to Fortesque`s Ice Cream Parlour for some dessert and drinks and Ted made his way back to the law office to complete paperwork and see a few clients. He has been neglecting his work for the most part of the week, to spend time with the children and his family, leaving his partner and junior members to keep everything running.

About half an hour later, Harry and Sirius made their way further down the Alley, packages under arms, towards Ollivander`s store for Harry`s first wand. They decided to get a few extra robes and clothes and also one set of everything, that was a size bigger, in case Harry grew unexpectedly.

Outside Ollivander`s, Harry saw an adult man and woman in jeans and jerseys, looking around in bewilderment, pointing at things and whispering to each other in excitement. Harry thought they looked quite out of place and wondered if they were lost, but shook it off as muggles can`t enter Diagon Alley, because they can`t see it, unless they are escorted there.

Harry opened the door to the shop, ringing a bell above his head, followed closely by Sirius, who immediately barked out a loud laugh and bounded over to an older woman with a long, olive green skirt, black cardigan and her grey hair tied in a tight bun on her head. She snapped her head up at the sound and her stern expression immediately changed into a warm and friendly smile, that cracked into a laugh as Sirius wrapped himself around the woman. Harry stood there, really confused, as the only woman that can cause Sirius to act like that, to his knowledge, is Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE.

"Professor McGonagall! It is lovely to see you again, it has been far too long," Sirius said, as he stepped back, bowed and took her hand, kissing it gently, mishief shining bright in his eyes.

"Mr. Black, please, you finished school many years ago and I told you in your last year, if we are in informal situations or out of school, it is Minerva," the woman playfully admonished him.

"Minerva, please let me introduce you to someone I know you have been dying to see for a long time now, my godson, Harry Potter," Sirius said, stepping aside and pulling Harry closer. Harry stepped forward and the woman observed him closely and smiled brightly at him.

"Mr. Potter, it is a pleasure to see you again. The last time I saw you, you were only three years old and just like Sirius here," she said, stepping forward and holding her hand out to Harry, who, like Sirius, bowed and took her hand, kissing it gently, smiling at her.

"Professor McGonagall, it is a pleasure to meet you, I really hope to do your favorite students proud at school, since Paddy told me a lot about all the teachers," Harry said as he stepped back, earning a big smile from Sirius and a chuckle from the professor.

"Sirius, I see you already took him under your wing. I cannot say that I am looking forward to this particular mini Marauder wreaking havoc throughout our halls," she said, giving Sirius a pointed look, before seeming to remember something and spoke again, "Sirius, Harry, there is someone I want you to meet, please wait right here." With that, she marched off.

Harry and Sirius stood there confused and decided to wait, as instructed. A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came back from somewhere in the shop. Next to her, walked a girl that looked to be Harry`s age. She had rather frizzy, curly brown hair and warm, chocolate brown eyes. She wore a knee length plain brown skirt and a pink sweater with a black criss-cross pattern, as well as white muggle pumps.

"Sirius, Harry, let me introduce you to Hermione Granger," the professor said, with a warm smile. Harry stepped forward when she raised her hand. He took her hand and bowed so that he could kiss her hand, not daring to break eye contact, then he said, " It is lovely to meet you, Miss Granger. I am Harry Potter, this is my godfather, Sirius Black. I do hope that we get along very well." Hermione immediately blushed a very cute pink across her face, almost hiding the light dusting of freckles across her nose.

"He-Hello, i-it`s nice to meet y-you too,' Hermione stammered shyly, looking down at her shoes, feeling very disorientated at the cute boy`s behaviour.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger here will be starting her first year at Hogwarts with you. She is born to non-magical parents and have almost no experience with our world. That is why I am helping her and her parents today. Can I be so bold as to ask that you help her feel at home? Help her learn about our world and such," the professor spoke to Harry with a warm smile.

"Of course, professor. I would do anything in my power to make her feel welcome and to help her learn more. It doesn`t matter what Houses we end up in," Harry smiled warmly at her, causing her to relax a little more and even smile back at him.

Hermione looked distractedly over his shloulder, until her head snapped back and she saw he was looking at her, causing her to blush again, before saying, "I-I need to go, my parents are waiting for me and I already got my wand." She tucked her hair behind one ear, slightly waved a thin box in her other hand and made her way out the store.

"Mr. Potter, I have been waiting for this day. I can still remember your father and mother and their merry band, including you, Mr. Black," and old, lanky man spoke up behind them, causing Harry to jump a little.

"Mr. Ollivander, it is good to see you again! I still have my wand, it still treats me well. I hope that we can find a suitable partner for Harry here," Sirius said, at which Ollivander left to the shelves and made his way back with a stack of boxes floating behind him, placing them on one of the tables. He motioned for Harry to approach him.

"Now, young man, I want you to open a box, take a wand and give it a whirl. Trust me, you`ll know when you find the right one. The feeling is indiscribable. Go on, then, give it a try," he spoke in a hushed voice, handing over the first box.

Harry opened the first box, pulled out a thin, light brown length of wood and made a motion for the Lumos light spell. Nothing happened. Disappointed, he put it back and on one side and pulled another box closer, and repeating the process, this time with a thicker, almost white wood. This process repeated itself over the next hour, with Mr. Ollivander making several trips for new boxes and banishing the pile of tried wands back to their places with his own wand.

"Mr. Potter, this is most unusual, follow me, please?" Ollivander ased Harry as he walked back to the shelves. He turned slightly to see a very worried child follow him, so he tried to give him some reassurance by saying, "Don`t worry, we`ll find you a wand. We just need to take a more outdated approach. We will walk through the shelves and you will listen. Put one hand on the shelf to your right, and when we turn, on the one to your left. Listen and feel for anything different and keep your eyes closed."

With that, they set off at a slow pace, navigating all the shelves in the front of the store, until they reached the end and had to go to the back of the store, where it was even darker and less well lit. Harry strained his senses for the first part and then gave up, deciding to use his meditative excercises to control his breathing and tracking the flow of his magic through his body. That was when it happened. He felt the magic in his body, when he felt a tug from somewhere close by. He turned toward it and walked off, away from Ollivander, who followed closely, with a curious excitement in his eyes.

Harry made his way toward the far back of the shop, following the mysterious pull on his magic. He came to the last shelf in the store and let his hands go up unaided, until he touched a very old and dusty box, pulling it down, sliding it open, he saw the box was lined with a black-purple velvet. The small groove contained the most beautiful craftmanship that Harry has ever seen. The wand was a soft black color, with a slightly raised handle, criss-crossing the handle, was engraved patterns of snakes, to form a grip. The design was flawless and the rest of the wand length was completely smooth and perfect.

Harry set the box down, reached for the wand with his right hand. He sucked in a lungful of air as soon as he made contact with the wand. He felt a chilling breeze sweeping through him, followed by a rising heat, settling in his bones, causing him to shiver. This happened while he heard a slight whispering through his mind, it sounded like muffled singing. He strained his hearing to make out words, but it died down as soon as it started. He lifted his wand into the air and a blinding white light shot out in pulses, lighting the whole of the shop for a few soconds, before dying down and leaving them in darkness once more.

"Merlin`s saggy sack, I never thought that I would have this honor, Mr. Potter," Ollivander spoke up behind Harry, breaking the silence like a rock against a mirror. Harry looked at the wand in his hand, the comforting heat slipping up and down his arm like a snake, coiling and uncoiling at irregular intervals.

"Ebony, with a Horned Serpent horn core, 31,75 cm in length, very rigid," Ollivander said, looking at the wand in Harry`s hand. He was amazed, to say the least.

"This wand, Mr. Potter, is part of a collection of wands I received from an American wandmaker. We have been in correspondence since our apprenticeships many years ago. When we reached our ten years mark of Masterships, we decided to exchange ten wands each, with each other. He managed to sell quite a few shortly after returning to America, as did I. He kept one that he said he didn`t want to sell, because of how beautiful and unique it is. This wand that you are holding, has been lying in the back of my store for almost 60 years, waiting for an owner to arrive," Ollivander explained, looking the wand over, admiring the craftmanship .

"H-how much does it cost, sir? I don`t know if I have enough money with me..." Harry said, concern flooding his face in an instant as the logical part of his brain kicked into overdrive.

"Oh no, no. That wand, young man, is unique, very much so. It is both too expensive and far too cheap, it is priceless," Ollivander said, chuckling at the confusion on the young man`s face, before going on, "It is part of a collection of another wandmaker and is to be given to the chosen witch or wizard at no cost, but if you will allow an old man to make a request and buy a care kit, I will be more that ecstatic."

"Really? I don`t need to pay for it? I will promise anything, sir, this is much too good to be true," Harry said, his eyes wide and gleaming as he looked up at the old man. He couldn`t believe his ears. There must be a catch somewhere.

"I would like you to look after that wand, take proper care of it, that is why I asked you buy a care kit. I would also like to invite you to meet the creator of that wand, because I will be sending him an owl as soon as you leave," he said, laughing softly at a joke only he knows of. Clearing his throat, he continued, "I also want you to get yourself a book on wandlore and woods and cores, as well as visit me whenever you can, so we can talk about what you learn. I ask this, because I saw the curiousity on your face as you inspected over 50 wands, not once did you look annoyed, only more interested. I would like to see if I can potentially cultivate a new wandmaker for our world." He looked at Harry expectantly.

"You are right Mr. Ollivander, I am very intrigued by what I saw so far and I would like to learn more, although, I cannot promise to become a future wandmaker, but I will get those books and come to you for many conversations on the topic. I will also write letters with many questions," Harry promised the old man, getting a warm feeling in his chest at a possible friendship and partnership.

They made their way to the front, greeted by a quiet shop and a lot of people outside, looking very irritated. Ollivander laughed at the sight, remembering that he closed the store for this particular search. Harry and Sirius bade the old man farewell after buying the promised polishing kit, heading to Flourish and Blotts for another round of books. Harry walked away with six books in total, two on wandlore and history, two on wood types and two more on core types, with hints on how to harvest them.

"Harry, do you still have the wand holster I gave you for your birthday?" Sirius asked Harry, who just nodded his head, looking up at him curiously.

"I left the holster blank for you, so that you can add your own runes and stuff to it as you learn about them. The only runes on it, is a small cluster for quick-draw. Just flick your wrist with the intent to draw and it will shoot out, but you need to practice, because you need to catch it, otherwise it flies away," Sirius told him. Sirius gifted Harry with a light brown dragonhide wand holster for his birthday, stating that it was his father`s spare holster when they joined the auror force and he kept it blank, with the intent to experiment with it, but never got around to it. Harry was really excited about it. It was the first thing he put on after his shower this morning, in preparation for his wand. He stopped to pull the wand out of its box and put it in the holster, bofore picking up his books and they made their way to meet Andi and Dora at Fortesque`s Ice Cream Parlour.

Dora and Andi were both speechless after Harry retold the story of what happened at Ollivander`s, with Sirius muttering under his breath about how smooth Harry is with the ladies. Upon questioning of this statement, Srius went on to explain how he managed to charm professor McGonagall and the new muggle-born girl, Hermione. This caused a loud laugh from Andi and a slight disappointed look from Dora, which no one noticed.

As they finished up, Harry told them that he would race them home, Sirius immediately transformed and bounded off to the Apparation points on the other side of the Alley, Andi started walking, laughing at their antics and Dora said, "You wouldn`t dare!", at which Harry winked at her and took of running, giving off a loud whistle, followed closely by a shouting Dora. She jumped forward and managed to grab the hem of his robes, just as a flash of fire surrounded them and spat them out on a marble floor.

Harry laughed out loud as Sirius came running through the door a few seconds later, cursing loudly at the sight before him. Dora rolled onto her back, kicking in disappointment and muttering, "Freaking teleporting birds," under her breath as Hedwig flew around the room, giving mocking shrieks before landing on Harry`s arm and nuzzling his neck with her beak. Harry stroked her breast softly, cooing about how beautiful and amazing she is, causing her to puff up in pride.

Ever since she mastered her flame travel ability, with Harry`s help, Hedwig used it as part of her mischief routine. She would randomly grab onto Harry or Dora and flash them to another part of the manor or the grounds. She even flashed Sirius up to the roof of the manor and left him there, forcing him to alter the wards so that he could apparate back down. This made him talk about how nice fried phoenix would taste everytime he knew that the bird could hear him. This led to a very interesting game of apparation tag. Sirius and Hedwig would chase each other and apparate around the manor and grounds in the hopes of tagging the other one.

Harry and Dora settled down in the living room, heated by the fireplace, surrounded by their new books. Both were wrapped in comfortable, wooly gowns. Dora decided to start reviewing her work for the second year, as she has already worked through most of it and just needed to brush up on everything. Harry, on the other hand, was reading through the books on wand woods, seeing as he worked through Dora`s books as soon as she came back from Hogwarts in June. They decided to leave the advanced reading of their next school year`s work for holidays and focus on their current year`s work and extra subjects and books for fun, during terms.

**Sunday, 1st of September 1991**

Harry, Dora, Sirius, Andi and Ted used the floo to travel to Platform 9 and ¾. As soon as they saw the train, Harry and Dora broke out into big smiles, hurrying toward the massive crowd, followed by a laughing Tonks family and a mock-crying Sirius. Some people, upon seeing Sirius, bowed slightly toward him.

Ater saying teary farewells and promises to write frequently, the children made their way onto the train. The adults shrunk their trunks for them and cast featherlight charms that would last until they reached their dorms.

Harry thought it might be best to alter his appearance until they were seated, even though it was unlikely that people would recognize him. He wore his hair in his preferred pony tail, but altered the color to an auburn color, also making it a bit more curly, instead of straight. He also altered his eye color to the same shade of grey as Sirius` eyes. Dora kept her hair the same length as Harry`s, but she likes to be seen, so she had it in a bubblegum pink color that stood out like a sore thumb. They both decided to wear their school clothes onto the train, because they asked Madam Malkin to make adjustments for comfort, at extra cost, of course.

They settled into the first empty compartment that they could find and spent a few minutes looking out into the sea of people outside. Harry took out the band from his hair and ran his fingers through the length, restoring the natural color and letting his eyes change back as well. Dora followed suite, but shortened it to a pixie cut, instead. They settled down, taking out books to read, just as a sea of red-heads moved past the compartment door.

"I`m looking for a toad, is there a toad in here?" came from the compartment door as it slid open. Harry`s eyes left his book and locked onto the chocolate-brown eyes of the girl from the wand shop. Hermione looked at him and seemed taken aback for a moment, before she started speaking again, "H-Hello, Harry, have you perhaps seen a toad? A boy named Neville seemed to have lost his."

"Morning, Hermione. How are you? Join us, please. My godbrother would remember how to summon Trevor soon enough," Harry smiled up at her, laughing at the surprise on her face.

"I`ve read about you, you know. You didn`t tell me you were famous when we met," Hermione told him, narrowing her eyes at him, trying to sum up his character with a single glance.

"He doesn`t believe himself to be famous. Hi, I`m Tonks," Dora spoke up, laughing at the witch when her eyes widened at her. She always got the same reaction to her appearance. She found it as amusing as Harry does. They love making people uncomfortable or shocked at what they can do.

"Just Tonks? Is that your name, or surname? What is going on with your hair and eyes? What about your hair and eyes, Harry? What do you mean you don`t-," Hermione fired of in rapid questions, running on fumes by the time Harry put up his hand to stop her, allowing Dora to start talking first.

"My surname is Tonks, but that is all I allow people to call me. I hate my name, so it is just Tonks, thanks," Dora huffed, looking back down to her book. Harry chose that moment to speak up as well, "Dora, there is no need to be rude, she`s just curious."

"Listen here, Harry James Potter. You know how I feel about my name as well as anyone. You, Paddy, mum and dad are the only ones allowed to call me Dora. Everyone else will call me Tonks, lest they want to be hexed into dust," Dora stated, her hair changing into a vivid shade of red, causing Harry to raise his arms in surrender and Hermione to stare at her, wide-eyed.

"She`s a big softy, just stay on her good side," Harry said, laughing at the look Dora threw his way, before going on, "To answer your follow-up questions, we are Metamorphmagi. It is an ability unique to the Black family and even then, it is rare. We are the first in over 50 years. It allows us to change our physical appearance to whatever we can imagine. It is sort of like a polyjuice potion, but foolproof, as far as we know. As for my fame, I am being honored for something my parents died for. They stopped him, not me." Harry looked over at Dora, who nodded, then back to Hermione, who looked at him in awe.

Harry and Dora went on to explain more on the extent and history of their abilities and Hermione sat there, absorbing everything like a sponge. Then they all went to talk about everything they loved and getting to know each other better. From favorite activities, to favorite foods and places. Harry and Hermione started talking about their favorite books, when Dora bade them farewell to look for her other friends. Hermione was so enraptured with Harry`s knowledge, that she immediately told him that they are now officially study buddies, regardless of what Houses they end up in. She felt like she found a kindred spirit in the pursuit of knowledge.

Hermione grew up away from other children, because they saw her as a bookish snob and a weirdo, especially when the accidental magic started. When professor McGonagall talked to her and her family, she felt so excited to be part of a world that would not see her as a freak. Her parents was wary at first, until they learned more, alongside Hermione, and they fully accepted their daughter`s new world when they saw Diagon Alley for themselves. They kept up with her in her book reading sessions, since all three of them made their own purchases at Flourish and Blott`s.

Harry and Hermione sat across from each other, reading their own books. They often made random comments or asked little questions about the other, but for the most part they were wrapped up in their own worlds. About halfway to Hogsmeade, the compartment door opened. Harry decided that he didn`t really care who it was and kept reading.

"I heard Harry Potter is on the train, have you seen him?" came from the door in a drawling voice. Harry rolled is eyes behind the book, peaking over it to see Hermione look at the door.

"Who wants to know?" Harry asked, still not looking up. He already decided, from the sound of the voice, that this person was too self-absorbed to actually be a friend.

"Draco Malfoy, is who. I want to help him see that there are certain _people_ that are not really worth associating with," the boy at the door replied. Harry studied Hermione and instantly knew that this boy, Draco, directed that comment at her. She was about to say something, so Harry decided to cut across her, before she could put her foot in her own mouth.

"I`ll be sure to tell him that you are looking for him. If that is all, you are excused," Harry spoke with finality and authority, daring the boy to say more on the subject, still not looking up, but focusing intently on Hermione from behind his book. He saw her relax when the door slid closed, but she still looked affronted by the encounter.

"What was that about?!" Hermione raised her voice a coouple of decibels above her normal conversational volume, demanding an answer from Harry.

"It`s pretty simple, and a veiled insult," Harry stated, seeing the question in her eyes, he continued, "That, my dear, was Draco Malfoy, Heir to the Noble house of Malfoy. They are pureblood extremists that hate half-bloods and muggle-borns, much like yourself. They feel that anyone not of pureblood birth, is so far below them that they don`t even deserve aknowledgement, much less a place in the wizarding world." At this, Hermione started going red, her eyes burning with hatred. Harry jumped up, just as she moved to get up. He put a hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to sit.

He spent the next while explaining the basics of the wizarding world to her. How the government and society works, how the majority are judged and casted out because of their blood status by the minority in control. The saving grace was when Harry told her what Sirius was trying to do in the Wizenmagot. How he is trying to equalize the different groups and reduce the bigotry and the extremist ideas. When Hermione asked him about the extremists, he explained that there are three groups or factions in the Wizenmagot. The first was the 'dark' group, that made up the pureblood bigots, that wanted to exile and ostracize everyone not of pure birth and wanted to force everyone below them into submission. The second group, was the 'light' group, that consisted of muggle lovers and the like. They wanted to do away with the blood statusses and accept muggles and the changes that they bring. They wanted to unite the wizarding and muggle worlds to an extent, work alongside them and grow with them. Upon hearing this, Hermione started getting really excited and Harry had to calm her down so he could explain why that was a very, _very_ bad idea.

He went on to tell her about how witches and wizards were forced into hiding by muggles and how the Statute of Secrecy came to be. He told her about how many muggle-borns go missing by the age of eleven, never to be found, how many more are abused for their abilities in their own homes. He had to soothe her when she started crying about how unfair it all is. He told her that is where the 'grey' faction in the Wizenmagot comes in. They are working towards the betterment of the wizarding world be evening everyone out. They want muggle-borns to feel welcome and safe by doing away with prejudices and bigotry. He also explained that they want to pull abused muggle-borns away from their families and embrace the families that accept them as is.

Hermione calmed down and agreed that the 'grey' faction sounded like the fairest of the bunch and that she would gladly throw her hat in with them if it means that things get better and people like the Malfoys are knocked down a peg.

"Is Harry Potter in here? I heard he`s on the train," came from the door, when it opened again. Before them, stood a boy with a lot of freckles on his face and almost orange ginger hair. Harry looked him up and down and saw that he had chocolate in the corners of his mouth and his clothes was disheveled.

"Sorry mate, haven`t seen him," Harry told him, causing Hermione to giggle into her hand, her head against his back.

"I`m Ron, Ron Weasly," the redhead said, pushing a chocolate covered hand towards them. Harry looked at his hand and pointed to the stains.

"The name`s James, this is Hermione," Harry told him, drawing louder giggling from his side. Hermione started clutching her sides at the sight of his hand.

"Y-You h-have, oh lord, y-you have chocolate on your hand and face!" she managed to say finally, hitting Harry on the arm for causing her to laugh.

Ron wiped his sleeve across his face and his hand on his clothes, then sat down and launched into recounting everything he heard about Harry Potter and how he want to be his best mate and that they would get along very well. Harry and Hermione kept throwing glances at each other and trying not to laugh, when the train finally made it into the station at Hogsmeade.

Stepping off the train, they were greeted by a mountain of a man with a mane of hair around his head. Harry bent over to Hermione and whispered, "That`s Hagrid, he`s a half-giant." Hermione jumped and squeaked at the voice in her ear.

"Firs` `ears afta` meh," Hagrid kept saying, pulling them along with him down a small pathway that led to a dock of sorts. Harry pulled Neville towards them and quickly whispered in his ear, "Call me James until we`ve been sorted, I want to make an entrance!" Neville smiled brightly and agreed, then they stepped into the four man boats with Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ron in the same boat. They spent the time talking animatedly about everything that they see. When they got closer to the castle, everyone looked at it with awe on their faces, drinking in the majesty unfolding before them.

They followed Hagrid up to the massive front doors that made up the entrance to the castle, where professor McGonagall stood, waiting for them. She gave Harry and Hermione a brief warm smile before slipping back into her stern demeanor. She spent the next few minutes explaining to them what will happen now and that they will all be sorted into different Houses that will become their families for the duration of their stay at Hogwarts and that any misconduct and rule-breaking will be met with swift punishment. The last statement, she directed in Harry`s direction, who just smiled innocently up at her.

She led them into the Great Hall. Harry stared up in awe at the ceiling, pulling on Hermione`s sleeve and showing her the same. He looked out in front of him and something bright caught his eyes. He zoomed in on it and saw Dora sitting with the Hufflepuffs, smiling brightly at him, her hair bright yellow with black streaks, much to the amusement of everyone looking at her. He waved back at her and stood in the neat row of first years, waiting for the sorting to start.

The hat began its song and everyone listened with rapt attention, two redheads at the Gryffindor table stood with hands over their hearts, swaying side to side, pretending to cry at the words. As soon as the hat finished its song, everyone gave a loud applause. Professor McGonagall silenced the hall and started reading from a large scroll.

"Abbott, Hannah," she called and a short girl with blonde ponytails made her way up the steps and as soon as the hat made contact with her head, shouted out Hufflepuff, followed by applause from said table. So it went on for a while.

"Granger, Hermione," the professor called and Hermione looked nervously over to Harry, he leant over and whispered, "Go on, it will be fine." Hearing this she blushed a little, pulled her shoulders up and marched to the chair. She sat down and the hat was placed on her head. Almost a full two minutes later, the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!" and a massive applause broke out from the blue and bronze table. Then the sorting continued again with Daphne Greengrass going to Slytherin and Neville Longbottom to Gryffindor and so on, until...

"Potter, Harry!" professor McGonagall called out and everyone started whispering and looking around, wanting to see the famous Boy-Who-Lived. Everyone wondering where he will be seated. Harry chuckled lightly to himself and started walking forward, running his hands through his hair and tying it back into his high ponytail. Dora winked at him as he walked past and he just laughed at all the different expressions on the faces around him. He reached the stool, nodded his head at the headmaster and turned around to sit down. He almost started laughing at the stunned looks on Ron and Draco`s faces.

'_Hmmm, very interesting...' _Harry heard an old voice in his head and knew it was the hat, looking at his qualities.

'_Heir of the House of Snakes, my, oh my. What to do with you... I see intelligence and a thirst for knowledge, but I also see cunning and ambition. You will go far in the House of your Heirship, but you will also obtain much in the House of ravens. What say you, young one?'_

'Hello Mr. Hat. I have given this topic some thought and hope you don`t mind me posing you a question or two, regarding this. I feel that cunning and ambition require intelligence to be brought to fruition, don`t you think? Also, intelligent people need to be ambitious in their persuit of knowledge, as well as cunning in their sharing thereof, to be able to get ahead and convince people of their merits,' Harry said in his mind, causing the hat to laugh out loud.

'_You are quite the bright spark, I see. I wonder. Pose your question and let`s see,' _ the hat said in his mind.

'Well, given my previous statement. How do you weight ambition and intelligence evenly and then decide which one wins out? If you take every person at face value, you can`t tell what type of person they are, but you have the honor of seeing into our minds and weighing our attributes on whichever scale you choose, selecting values you determine, to place us into a house that you think benefit us, but how about we assume that intelligence, ambition, bravery and loyalty can be weighed on the same scale and give the same weight. That means that people are being sorted into houses based on adolescent ideals and hopes, not mature experience and intuition. A Gryffindor today, can be a Slytherin in four years` time. The same goes for any of the houses. Now let`s say that you assign four scales and four different measurement systems. How do you assign a weight or a unit of measurement to a mindset? How do you measure an emotional response accurately enough to compare it to another?'

'_Mr. Potter, I think you may give even the most intelligent people on the staff a run for their Galleons, given a few years to mature more. I think you are completely right, however. That is why I must disclose that this old hat was merely enchanted to listen to the calling of the soul. This allows me to make suggestions, which more often than not, is met with silence, thus I sort. You, however, have given this shaped piece of leather a lot to think on, so make your choice, give me a reason for it and I shall announce it for you,' _the hat said into his mind, chuckling lightly.

'I choose Ravenclaw. I want to match my ambition and intelligence to further myself and others. I also feel that sorting me into Ravenclaw will surprise people. The third point I want to make, is that I wish to hide the knowledge of my Slytherin heirship for the time being,' Harry said, smiling at his points.

"A very interesting young man indeed, but the choice have been made for me, thus RAVENCLAW!" the hat spoke out loud, breaking the silence and drawing a large round of applause as Harry made his way over to where Hermione was sitting. As he stepped down, he changed his hair bright blue with bronze streaks, matching his new house.

"What took so long?" Hermione demanded of him as soon as he sat down next to her. He looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean 'what took so long'?" he asked her, looking her in the eyes. Her gaze flicked up to his hair and back. The people around them looked and pointed at his hair as the sorting continued.

"You took forever! You just sat there for going on twenty minutes, until the hat finally spoke up again. I only sat there for two minutes." Hermione said, exasperated at his lack of awareness.

"Twenty minutes, really? We had a friendly debate, is all. He wanted to sort me into Slytherin and Ravenclaw, saying I could do well in either. So, I asked him how is it possible to assign weights to a mindset and compare them equally. I also asked him how is it possible to be intelligent without the ambition to further it, and how can you be cunning without intelligence to pull it off," Harry said, shrugging. Hermione sat there, slack-jawed, staring at him. Those around him that heard this, also looked at him like he grew another head. The sorting finished at this point and they saw food in front of them, so Harry decided to dig in.

"A few announcements, before we go to bed. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. Also, the third floor corridor on the left is being renovated and therefore off-limits. Next, I would like to introduce our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, ex auror Johan Strauss, from the South African Ministry of Magic," the headmaster said, sweeping his hand toward a tall, tanned man in grey and green robes. He had silver-white hair and light grey eyes that speaks of unseen horrors and scars peeking out from his shirt. He nodded his head and looked across the hall.

"Now then, off to bed! First years, follow your prefects. Your Heads of House will hand out your schedules at breakfast," the headmaster bade them and left to a door behind the staff table.

Harry an Hermione fell into line behind the prefects and followed them down the halls and up the spiral staircase at the eastern side of the school, on the fifth floor. When they reached the top, it opened up to a landing decorated with a few paintings and couches and a big, room-wide blue carpet with bronze trims. At the end of the landing they found a large arch with big wooden double doors and an eagle head bronze knocker.

"The door will ask you a riddle that you need to answer correctly to enter, fail to do so and you will have to wait for someone to answer it correctly to gain entry," the prefect told them as they gathered round.

"What is black and white, and red all over," the knocker asked and the prefects looked at them expectantly. Harry and Hermione immediately shot their hands up, grinning at each other. The male prefect pointed towards Hermione, who was jumping up and down by then.

"The answer is a newspaper, of course!" Hermione stated with confidence.

"Correct, young one. Please enter and enjoy your stay," the door said, swinging inwards and allowing them entry. They went in and stared around them in awe. The door led to a wide circular room with soft leather couches, large bookcases and a high ceiling. There was windows around the room, giving a nearly 360 degree view of the grounds. There are a few fireplaces around the room. The whole room is covered in shades of blue and bronze. Across the room from the entrance, two staircases led up in opposite directions.

"Boys on the right, girls on the left. The first years are on the first floor and your names are on the boards on the doors. You will find your possessions inside already," the prefects said, before leading them up the respective staircases to their rooms for the night.

**A/N; Hoooooooly Moly. This chapter took a lot more out of me than expected. Longest chapter so far. The first few chapters serve as an introduction of sorts and this is the official start of the story.**

**I hope you guys are still keeping up and finding the story entertaining. I made a lot happen in this chapter, hope it all makes sense.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thank you for following me thus far. From the last chapter, you can see that there are new characters and concepts that will be brought forth, as well as changes to personalities and so forth. **

**I also want to let you all know that from now on the chapters will be unfolding slower than the first few. **

**I can`t decide what I want to do with the story progression and the main villain`s plots for Harry and his gang, although I am busy figuring it out slowly. I tend to start writing and then take notes as I go along, thus, everything literally unfolds at my fingertips.**

**Without further ado, let us away!**

**Chapter 7 – The First Of Many**

**Monday, 2nd of September, 1991**

Harry`s eyes shot open and he sat up in his blue and bronze bed. A big smile spread across his face as he thought of everything that happened the previous day. He opened the curtains around his bed and was assaulted by the sounds of snoring around the room. He got up and pulled on cargo shorts and tight-fit shirt, tying his hair up and made his way down to the grounds to jog.

After he finished up, he noticed it was still early and everyone would still be asleep. He pulled off his shirt as he entered the common room and pulled his hair from its band, when he heard a gasp and a cough. Looking up, he saw an indian girl sitting on one couch, her legs pulled up, her book bag in front of her. She openly stared at him as he walked in.

"Hi there, Padma, right?" Harry asked her, snapping her out of the trance she was in. Her eyes flicked rapidly between his eyes and chest, before locking on to his eyes, seeming to steel herself.

"H-Hello, Harry. Yes, I-I`m Padma. Why are you shirtless?" she blurted out, slapping her hand over her mouth, mortified at her question.

"Oh, I just came from a jog. Need to go for a shower. Cheers," Harry called over his shoulder, making his way up the stairs, getting ready for the day.

Harry quickly took a shower, got dressed and made his way downstairs, leaving his books and stuff behind, because he still needed his timetable. Coming down the stairs, he saw a few people sitting around and talking or reading, or still waking up. Some people were dressed in their school clothes, others were milling around in their pajamas. Hermione stood off to one side and spoke to Padma Patil and an Asian girl he didn't recignize, they were discussing something excitedly, gesticulating wildly. Hermione looked up and saw him and blushed a little, while the other girls giggled behind her. He walked over and she waved shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Good morning, Hermione. Can I walk with you down to the Great Hall?" Harry asked, at which she nodded. They made their way down to the Hall and took seats, close to the door, as to be able to make their way back to fetch their books before lessons started. Professor Flitwick made his way into the Hall with a stack of parchment squares in his hands, marching quickly towards them.

"Morning, morning. First years have double Charms first thing with me! Remember your books and stationary, please? I do not appreciate ill-prepared students wasting all our time," professor Flitwick stated, nodding toward them and handing them their time tables. They both started studying it and Harry`s face lit up at the same time that Hermione went as pale as a ghost.

"Flying?! Nobody said anything about flying! I hate flying!" Hermione exclaimed over the table at Harry, who laughed out loud in excitement.

"I know! It`s bloody brilliant, I can`t wait for this afternoon!" Harry said, almost bouncing, but calmed down when he saw her face, then saying, "Hermione, it will be fine, trust me. I will be there, as well as the teacher. We`ll make sure you are fine." This seemed to appease Hermione a little as they made their way out of the Hall.

They started arguing playfully about the best way to get to various classes from different locations, as they made their way to and from the Ravenclaw tower. They came to a stop outside the Charms classroom and saw that professor Flitwick arrived at that moment, allowing them to enter and sit down. Hermione wanted to sit right in the front of the class, as to better hear and see what is going on. Harry pointed out that if they set a little more toward the back, or even in the middle, they would be able to focus on the class, as well as discuss different ideas and topics amongst themselves, if needed. She quickly accepted and led the way to the best seats she could find, for this purpose. Professor Flitwick asked them to settle down just as a few Gryffindors came trailing in after class has started already.

"Mr. Finnigan, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Thomas, do you need some assistance with timekeeping of locating the classrooms? Please sit down and get out your books!" the professor called out to them from atop his desk. He strode around the desk, looking around and assessing the students in front of him.

"Okay, first things first, open your books at the first chapter and we can begin. Your wands act as magical foci, that concentrate the magical energy from your cores, through your body and into the wand, which is then manifested in the direction of your choosing. Wand movements and incantations serve as a means for shaping your magic into different spells, with different effects," the professor called out, flicking his wand at the board, that started displaying different diagrams, depicting the core and flow of magic into the wand.

"Imagine your magical core as being a water well. Casting a spell, draws water from the well, pouring it out. The bigger the spells, the bigger the drain. The same with the amount of effort put in, the amount of spells used and how fast it is cast. If you don`t practice, or don`t have enough control over your magic, it will act as a hole in the bucket, leaking water. Putting too much or too little magic into a spell, will over- or underpower it. Overpowering can cause a bigger drain than needed, but may not always increase the effectivity of the spell," professor Flitwick said, looking out over the young faces in front of him, some lost, some following, others bored.

"Please look at the illumination charm in front of you and, at your own pace, try casting it," he stated, waving his wand at the windows, causing the natural light to dim.

The students started looking at the wand movements and the incantations and some started trying immediately. Some had more success than others. Hermione beamed at Harry, when she managed the Lumos spell on her first try and immediately started experimenting with various output levels, dimming and brightening the light at the tip of her wand. Harry scribbled on a piece of parchment and pushed it to Hermione, whispering in her ear, "This one isn`t in the book, but it is a good one to learn to help with control." He then pointed his wand toward the roof, made a cross shaped movement and murmured, "Lumos Volitare.' A bright ball of white light, the size of a tennis ball, shot from the tip of his wand. It flaoted upwards, until it stopped a meter from the ceiling and just hung there. Everyone looked at the light and tried to find out who cast it.

"Mr. Potter, is this your handiwork?" the professor asked him, looking excited, at which Harry just nodded his head. Hermione started practicing the movement, then casting it as well, bouncing in excitement. Her orb faltered after a few seconds, but she wasn't deterred.

"Mr. Potter, I think Ravenclaw deserves 20 points for using an improved spell, that is not in the syllabus, as well as helping Miss Granger learn it. Wherever did you learn that?" professor Flitwick asked, curiously.

"Well... Uhm... I found one of my mother`s journals. It contained a lot of spells and how to cast them, as well as a short piece of history on it. Some of it is above me so far, but I am trying to practice those I can, sir," Harry said, trying to avoid the half-goblin`s gaze.

"Lily Potter, an exceptional woman. So, so sad. I would love to see how you turn out, dear boy," the professor said, looking at him, sadly. Harry smiled and took out his mother`s charms journal to continue reading. Hermione managed to get the right balance for the floating lumos and then there were two floating orbs hanging in the air, much to the professor`s delight.

The rest of the morning lessons passed really slowly, with Harry and Hermione talking softly amongst themselves, while the professor continued with the rest of his explanations on how to balance magical output to get the best results for spellwork. They looked through Lily`s Charms journal, with Hermione asking questions and Harry answering or explaining where he had the knowledge to. By the time lunch rolled around, she had more notes on what they talked about, than about the lesson they sat through.

After what felt like an eternity, lunch finally came around and Harry and Hermione made their way to the Great Hall, where they sat down and started eating. Harry took out some parchment and made some notes over what was said in History of Magic. He really didn`t want to believe that a ghost taught the class, but Dora insisted that it was true. Hermione looked at him, wondering what he was doing, voicing as much.

"I am making notes on History class, just in case I need any of it for the essays that a ghost can`t possibly grade," Harry explained, rolling his eyes.

"Harry, how do you remember all of what was said in class? I remember most of it, but surely not that much. It looks like you have the whole lesson there," Hermione said, looking at the parchments between them.

"Padfoot taught me and Dora Occulomency," Harry explained, upon seeing her confusion, he went on, "Occulomency is a branch of magic that helps secure and protect your mind. It also helps you retain knowledge and sort emotions and thoughts better. It is a very useful skill." Harry saw Hermione think on the topic and form questions, so he predicted the first one. "Occulomency is mainly used as a defence against Legilemency. Legilimency is the art of invading the mind of another, to extract information or even alter already existing memories." Hermione looked thoughtful at this and made a mental note to find books on the subjects.

Dora came storming in at that moment, her robes disheveled, face flushed and her hair a fiery red. She marched along the tables, until she reached them and sat herself down heavily, rocking the seats and knocking a goblet off the table. She used a fork to spear some food and started eating aggressively.

"Harry, Hermione, how are things?" she spoke, more a statement than a question, her teeth clenched tightly.

"Dora, what happened? Am I hexing people on my first day at school?" Harry asked, flicking his wand out, aiming to stand up. Dora pulled him down in his seat as Hermione looked on in confusion.

"Harry, stop. It is just some fourth year moron that tried to call me by my name, so I hexed him all the way from the steps to the pitch. He`s probably in the Hospital Wing now, with various rashes and boils and other embarrassing things," Dora said, puffing herself up, smiling brightly, her hair back to its bright pink again. Hermione tried to ask her about her name again, but Harry managed to silence her with one look. He knew that she wasn`t above flinging hexes at the lunch table. That thought made him shiver, so he shook his head and started joing the two girls in their conversation, which had turned to the flying lessons taking place that afternoon. Dora kept going on about Harry being a natural, hands waving everywhere while she retold some of their flying stories. When she finally got to the story of Harry letting go of his broom and falling out the sky, Hermione was pale-faced, hands over her mouth, with a horrified expression. To Dora`s surprise, Hermione went on a rant, berating him for his stupidity, so much so that she had to save Harry after about five minutes of scolding and almost every hair color imaginable. Shortly after Hermione`s fit, they decided to make their way towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Dora went the other way to her first class of the afternoon, calling out farewells to them.

"Harry?" a voice said behind them, stopping them as they reached the stairs. Harry stopped to turn around. He saw a very cute girl with black and green robes. She had long, waist-length black hair, that was braided. Her eyes were like the insides of an iceberg, a piercing icy white-blue. She carried herself with grace and dignity. She stood in front of him, her hands clasped in front of her, looking at him.

"My name is Daphne Greengrass, my father, the Lord Greengrass, asked that I introduce myself to you and approach you in regards to establishing a friendship, or perhaps even just try to get along, since our House Lords are in an alliance," she said, dipping into a curtsey and raising her hand toward Harry, who took it and bowed as he kissed her knuckles softly.

"It is nice to meet you, Daphne. Sirius told me I might be approached by people that he is aligned with. He also told me that you were raised as a pureblood princess. If I am being honest, pureblood ideals tend to get me worked up," Harry told her, gazing lightly at her, assessing the look in her eyes, to try and see what impact his words have on her. He saw guilt and something else flit through her eyes, before settling in a hard, stony look.

"Please, allow me to introduce you to Hermione Granger. She is in Ravenclaw with me. She is a very gifted muggleborn and one of my closest friends," he said, looking at Hermione, who put her hand up to Daphne. Hermione looked at him and blushed under his gaze and words. Looking over at Daphne, he saw the same look as before and recognized it this time. It was sorrow, a deep supressed sadness.

"I would like to assure both of you, that I am not like most purebloods. My whole family are more accepting, but there are appearances that need to be kept up. It saddens me that people judge others on blood status," Daphne said, her gaze sweeping between the two in front of her. She seemed to be judging their reactions. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and looked upon Daphne in defiance. Harry put his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently, leaning in and whispering something that Daphne couldn`t hear, but it seemed to relax the bushy-haired witch.

"It was lovely meeting you, Daphne, but we have Defence now and need to get going," Harry said, nodding toward her and started walking with Hermione up the steps. Daphne fell in step on Harry`s other side, saying that the Slytherins also have Defence. They made their way to the class, only to find their professor stand outside the class. He led them inside and had them all sit at the desks. Harry looked around and saw that Draco Malfoy was glaring at him from the other side of the class, sitting behind Daphne and a cute blonde-haired witch.

"My name is Johan Strauss, I used to be an auror in the South African Ministery of Magic. I will be teaching you how to defend yourself against the Dark Arts and various creatures," the professor told them, while taking off his robes, revealing a scale covered, laced up vest and a white shirt underneath with a wide collar. Underneath, there were scars peeking out.

"I will be teaching you various dueling techniques, curses and counters, fending off various creatures and how to analyse and adapt to different scenarios. We'll start by learning how to properly avoid getting hit by spells, without shielding. Pair up in twos. One will throw stinging jinxes and the other will dodge it," he said again, using his wand to move the desks out of the way and drawing two lines on the floor.

Harry and Hermione paired up, with Hermione immediately flining stinging hexes at Harry, who just avoided every single one, stepping side to side in a graceful sort of dance. Every few seconds, he would fling one at Hermione, who would yelp out loud and glare at him, causing him to laugh out loud. When they switched roles, he went slowly at first, to help her to get used to dodging them, then increase the speed after a while. She yelped out every now and then, when she got hit.

The rest of the lesson went like that, one casting and one dodging. People would occasionally yelp out in surprise or groan in annoyance. At one point, Daphne got really mad when a stray hex from Draco hit her on the hip. She proceeded to throw strings of schoolyard hexes and jinxes at him, ending up with him crying out for mercy, swearing aloud on the floor.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Mr. Malfoy, get one of your friends or Madam Pomfrey to reverse those hexes and learn to cast accurately. Your control is sloppy. Dismissed," the professor called out, putting a stop to Draco's suffering. Daphne tucked her wand away and left the classroom in a huff, followed closely by the blonde-haired witch.

**0o0o0**

"Stand next your brooms, hold your hand over them and in a firm, commanding voice, say 'Up'," Madam Hooch, the flying coach, told all the first years. What followed next, was five minutes of brooms rolling around, jumping this way and that, refusing to move, or lifted with such force that the owners got hit in various uncomfortable places. Harry just stood there for the most part, watching people struggle, including Hermione, who had no luck whatsoever. Harry leant over to her and whispered in her ear, "Don't ask or request, you have to demand. You are in control and the broom must listen to you." Hermione shivered a little as his breath tickled her, but she shook it off. Feeling emboldened, she stuck her hand and told the broom to get up and it shot up into her hand.

Hermione turned to face Harry, beaming. Harry stood, leaning against his broom, half a meter off the ground. He had both feet in one of the metal foot rests, one arm around the broom. Hermione tentatively climbed on, listening to Harry's explanations. He got a nod from Madam Hooch and beckoned for Hermione to follow him, as he swung himself on the broom and led her over the pitch, explaining the basics as she flew shakingly behind him.

"H-Harry, how are you so good at this? This is terrifying!" Hermione called out behind him as he laughed out loud.

"Hermione, you need to let go! Just let go and fly! There is nothing really to it. You need to let go and be free!" Harry called out to her. She looked very pale and had a death grip on the handle, so Harry slowed down and they stopped. He moved closer to her, smiling.

"Breath in, steady yourself and breath out. You are smart and confident and strong, you can do anything. Believe in yourself," Harry told her. Hermione breathed deeply and steadied herself. After a few moments, she told him that she was ready. They set off again, with Hermione being a lot more steady and confident than before. Harry led her around the field, looking at the other students, some doing well and others struggling immensely. They notice that there were already a few missing from the group, their brooms lying abandoned.

Harry led Hermione higher and then through dips, different types of turns and explaining different things. Hermione started to relax a lot more and actually having a lot of fun. She started experimenting with the speeds and she suddenly wobbled through the air and lost all her nerves again. Harry didn't notice what was happening until he heard her shouting below him. He turned and saw she was making a sharp nose dive and couldn't get control of the broom. He shot after her with Madam Hooch approaching from the other side, just as fast. Hermione hit the ground with a sickening crunch and a blood curdling scream. Harry jumped off his broom and dropped next to her, shouting obcenities as he turned her and held her up, looking her over.

"Hermione! Shit, Hermione. We need to get you to the Hospital Wing! Your arm is broken badly,' Harry called to her, panicked. He gently moved her right arm to lie across her stomach, bleeding badly, bones sticking out. Hermione was crying badly, her face paled rapidly at the bloodloss. Madam Hooch ripped out her wand and shot a strong stunner at the girl in Harry's arm, causing her to go limp. She conjured rags to press against the bleeding arm, encasing it to staunch the flow.

"Class dismissed! Mr. Potter, we need to get her to the Hospital Wing. Everyone else to your dorms!" Madam Hooch called out around her, Harry was already by the entrance to the pitch when she caught up. He put her down on the stretcher that the coach conjured and they ran into and through the halls.

**0o0o0**

Hermione slowly moved her head side to side, feeling a throbbing in her head, arm and side. She couldn't remember what happened to her, but she was very comfortable at that moment. She heard murmurs around her that didn't make any sense. She tried focusing on it, but struggled immensely. Her eyes fluttered and she had to shut it hard against the bright light. She heard a voice to her side and felt a hand in hers. _So warm, so soft, _she thought to herself. She looked to her side and saw the two greenest eyes under flowing black and red hair. Her eyes widened in horror as she remembered what happened.

"Hermione, how are you feeling? You took a nasty tumble," Harry spoke softly, his voice thick with concern for his new friend.

"Never, ever flying again," Hermione croaked back at him, her throat dry.

"Miss Granger, you will need to stay here for a few days. You broke your arm in three places, dislocated your shoulder and have a few scrapes from the broom shattering on impact. I have you on pain relief potions, Skele-Gro and blood replenishing potions," Madam Pomfrey spoke up behind Harry. Hermione adopted a very panicked expression at the thought of missing classes, until Harry reassured her that he would get all her homework and notes, as well as sit with her, mornings and afternoons, until she got out.

"Thank you, Harry. You don`t need to do all of that, but thank you," Hermione told him, her eyes starting to tear up and a big smile crossing her face as she drifted off again.

**Wednesday, 4th of September 1991**

Hermione had already dressed to leave the hospital wing and was busy finishing up with the first half of her Defence essay that Harry dropped off at lunch. She didn't even need to consult her text books, seeing as Harry was very diligent with his note taking. She thought that he is really considerate, seeing as she is more than willing to read through the text book. She looked up at the sound of the door opening and immediately perked up further when Harry walked in, taking his hair down after the flying lesson.

"Hey, I see you are ready to leave. Good, I have some notes from Charms and Transfiguration. Also, professor McGonagall asked if we can go see her before dinner, so we need to move," Harry told her, smiling when she jumped up. Madam Pomfrey came over and checked her over and declared her fit to leave, as well as gave her a note to be excused from flying classes, due to 'psychological reasons'. She explained that she is also mortally terified of flying and was more than happy to provide the young girl with the note.

"I see you survived your excursion on a rogue broom," Dora exclaimed, smiling brightly at them when they stepped outside. She walked along with them, telling them stories of the accidents that her group made the previous year. She said that there are quite a few people that had the same problem as Neville, flying straight into a wall several meters off the ground, earning them a trip to the hospital wing for an hour or two. To Hermione's horror, though, she found out that she received an unofficial award, namely, 'Best Crash of the Year' . Dora left them at professor McGonagall's office, stating that she needed to go to the library to finish a potions essay.

"Come in!" came from inside the classroom, when they knocked. They walked in and was greeted by professor McGonagall, reading through essays.

"Miss Granger, I really want to say thank you, first of all. You and Mr. Potter here turned in excellent essays regarding basic transfiguration of inanimate objects and size limitations. You made an excellent observation of inter-material transfiguration requiring more precise control and more input than same material transfiguration," the aged professor told them, looking over her glasses at them as they sat down. They thanked her and took some tea that she offered them.

"Miss Granger, due to recent tragic events, I have yet to see you perform practical transfigurations. Mr. Potter assures me that you are well capable, since he insisted on being at your bedside at every possible moment," she said, internally smiling at the blush creeping over the young raven-haired wizard's face. She took out three matches and a spoon.

"The first match into a wooden button, the second into a needle, the third one into a metal button and finally, the spoon into a hairclip, if you please, Miss Granger," professor McGonagall told Hermione, pointing toward the objects. Hermione took out her wand, collected her thoughts and pointed her wand at the objects and performing the necessary motions, she transfigured the objects one at a time. All of them was successful, except for the metal button missing two holes and the hairclip not opening.

"Very good, Miss Granger. I am happy to say that Mr. Potter was correct about your abilities, considering that you missed the lessons. You just need to picture the end product more clearly for the intricate transfigurations and you will do exceptionally well." Hermione perked up at the praise and beamed at Harry. She was really glad to be able to impress the professor. She's used to being the best in her classes and being praised in a world, into which she was only recently introduced, filled her heart with pride.

"Thank you, professor! I'll remember to focus more clearly on the outcome," Hermione said, still smiling widely.

"Now, there is another thing I want to discuss, if you don't mind me dropping formality?" the professor asked, looking toward Harry, who nodded at her to continue.

"Thank you, Harry. I must say, I got a rather interesting and confusing letter from your godfather. He told me an interesting story regarding you and Miss Tonks and animals," she said, smiling internally at the fact that Harry looked away shyly, not knowing what to say. Hermione looked on at the conversation in confusion.

"Harry, please do not worry. You and Miss Tonks are not in trouble, neither is Sirius. I merely want to discuss it with you. If you feel uncomfortable talking about it, we can discuss it at a later date," she told him, her eyes flicking over toward Hermione. Harry followed her eyes and saw the questions in the girl's eyes and decided it best to only have the conversation once and deal with the questions as they appear.

"There is no need, professor. We can discuss it in front of Hermione. I am very certain that she will hound me until I tell her everything and explain it as well. For the sake of avoiding reduntant conversations, I already told Hermione about the basics of Occulomency and Legilimency and gave her some introductory reading on the subjects," Harry told the professor, after which he offered to make them tea, anticipating a long conversation. Both of them were quick to accept and more than surprised when he started making the tea by hand. When asked about it, he informed them, much to Hermione`s surprise and delight, that he and Dora have been taught to do most things as muggles do. Harry told them that he spent most mornings helping to prepare breakfast, after swimming or jogging.

Hermione, for one, was very impressed, when he said he loved making food. She knew she was absolutely rubbish at cooking, although she did love different types of food. Her mother and father always made it a challenge to outdo one another in the kitchen and she loved watching their antics. It made for very entertaining meal times. When asked, they would say that, after being married for more than 14 years, you are used to your partner's quirks and in their marriage, they are both highly competitive and they use it in a playful manner, as to keep things alive and going.

"Sirius told me that, due to your Metamorphmagus abilities, he decided to teach you Occulomency to try and help improve your control over your magic and assist with controlling emotions," she explained, at which Harry nodded.

"He informed me that, when both of you took to it quite well, he decided to see if he could get you to use your magical core to build a mindscape. Would you like to explain what Sirius taught you about Animagi to Hermione here?" professor McGonagall asked encouragingly. Hermione sat at the edge of the chair, nodding vigorously, looking expectantly at Harry.

Harry smiled at her and started gathering his thoughts. He thought that her excitement in the face of knowledge was really amazing. He loved learning new things, but Hermione was on a whole new level, all on her own, above him. He found that sharing his knowledge with her, was exciting in its own right.

"Right. Well, an Animagus is a witch or wizard, that have the ability to change into an animal at will. The witch or wizard cannot change or decide the form that they take, as it is based on their personality traits," Harry explained to her, seeing her eyes light up.

"Are people born with it? Can you learn it? What are the pros and cons?" Hermione asked excitedly, bouncing her feet, eliciting a light chuckle from professor McGonagall.

"A Metamorphmagus is a person that inherit the ability through bloodlines, the Black family being the only known carriers. An Animagus, on the other hand, is a person that earns the ability through one of two methods. The first is the most well-known. It takes anywhere between two months up to whatever length. It is an immensely difficult and tricky ritual, involving keeping a mandrake leaf in the mouth for a month, using said leaf in a potion, with the person's hair and a few rare and hard to gather ingredients, mixed in very specific circumstances, to be drunk during a thunderstorm. If any part of the ritual goes slighty wrong, the whole process can be disasterous or needs to be started all over," Harry explained, looking at Hermione, seeing her expression drop a bit at the thought of such a complicated ritual.

"That is why we only recommend it to people that get Outstanding on their O.W.L's for Transfiguration and Potions, then only attempting it in their N.E.W.T year, under supervision. It is a very long process and, if done incorrectly, potentially fatal. That is why anyone that manage to do it, need to be registered, to keep track of people capable of achieving the transformation," the professor explained to a dejected Hermione. She listened to the explanation with rapt attention, even though she felt a little discouraged at the idea of something she isn't capable of achieving. Harry saw her sorrow and decided to explain again, knowing that the professor left the majority for him to explain, only filling in the blanks.

"There is a second way, but it is much longer and require a lot of patience and dedication. Dora and I have been at it for a year now and should take another year or two, before we can attempt to begin the transformation. The first step, is learning basic Occulomency. It allows you to sort through memories and emotions and compartmentalize everything. This forms as a basis for a type of meditation of sorts that allows you to actively feel magic coursing through your body and also find and feel your magical core," Harry explained, smiling genuinely at Hermione's look of awe.

"Once you are able to feel your magical core and can sense the magic coursing through you, you will need to clear your mind of all things. Completely empty your mind and focus only on the emptiness and your magical flow. This will put you into a trance-like state, which will allow your magical energy to start building your mindscape, which is where you will start communicating with or feel what your animal spirit is," Harry finished his explanation. Professor McGonagall looked at him, pleased with his assessment of the second method.

"30 points to Ravenclaw for superb knowledge on a subject that is not widely practiced," the transfiguration professor beamed at Harry, seeing a new potential apprentice in the making. She composed her emotions before pressing on, "Harry, I assume you're mindscape have already started forming. Can you tell me what you see and feel, while exploring it?" the professor asked Harry, feeling excitement build in her at the prospect of one so young learning the transformation.

"Snow, I see snow and trees and mountains. I can`t make out what type of trees it is, or where I am. I know I have fur, because I don`t feel cold. I have very basic instincts coming through. Hungry, chase, water, patrol territory. I don`t need company, but I am not opposed to companionship. This is my world, I am in charge," Harry explained, straining to look through his memories of a more primal state. He occationally feels an urge to snap at people that try to intimidate or talk over him. He had to surpress a few growls in Potions class, in which professor Snape kept trying to belittle him. It wouldn't do to growl at a professor.

"Hmmm, I would think, from what you are saying, that it is something canine in nature, but more wild. A lone animal and a pack animal at the same time. Definitely an Alpha male type animal. I must say, Harry. I am very impressed with your progress. Do you anything about Miss Tonks' mindscape?" professor McGonagall asked him, not bothering to contain her excitement anymore, seeing that Hermione was in the same state as herself, she smiled genuinely.

"Not really, she seems to think that it is some sort of jungle environment and she also feels similar feelings as I do, but there is more of a playful and mischievous nature to it. Today and yesterday, on my way to see Hermione, I actually found her stalking me. She was actually stalking me, like I was some sort of prey," Harry told her, brows furrowed, scratching the back of his head. Hermione started laughing out loud, unable to stop herself.

"Before we came to Hogwarts, I found her in front of the fireplace a few times, fast asleep," Harry continued, to Hermione's detriment, as she kept laughing without holding back. They had to wait a while for her to calm down. Harry offered the ladies more tea and they readily accepted. Hermione settled down, sipping the tea tentatively.

"Harry, I am very intrigued by your progress and would really love to be of assistance. Your father and his friends did the whole process under my nose, thinking I didn't realise and I have to say I was very disappointed with them for not coming to me. Your father was one of my favorite students. Do not misunderstand, I was really proud of them, I am the one that pushed for their registrations on an international level, as to help keep it as anonymous as possible," the professor explained to Harry, looking at him with pride in her eyes.

"Your mother was intrigued by the idea as well, considering she was followed by a certain suspicious stag for a few days, with James being missing every time. She felt that the time requirements was too much, however. During her final year she focused on preparing to go for her Masters in Potions and Charms," she continued, her eyes taking on a faraway look.

**0o0o0**

**Monday, 30st of September 1991**

The rest of the month passed with little in the way of excitement or revelations. Harry and Dora set aside spare time every day, in order to help Hermione learn basic Occulomency and meditative techniques. She started grasping the basics of it, but had a lot of trouble with setting aside all her thoughts and finding her magic flow. Harry and Dora took turns with sitting in front of her, holding her hands and lightly increasing and decreasing their own magic flows, using their changes to make it more detectable. Hermione had no problem doing it with their help, but if they stopped, she struggled again.

Harry tried a more practical approach might be better to kickstart the process. He told her to close her eyes and focus, while casting a Lumos Volitare charm, and to feel for the exact moment when the spell releases. She found it a lot easier to do that, than to meditate on it. Soon enough, she was able to feel her own magic, however briefly at times. Meditating on that feeling became slightly easier and she could go a minute or so to feel her magic flow, then another minute or two, before she lost it again.

Harry and Hermione was on their way to the library after Herbology, discussing various essays they still had to finish and tests to study for. They found a comfortable routine, going to classes, library and then Occulomency sessions with Dora. Harry managed to show Madam Hooch that he didn`t need more lessons and got an invitation to fly with the Ravenclaw team at their practice sessions. This freed up a lot more time for him to study and research wandlore and the like.

"Potter!" came a voice from behind Harry and Hermione, while they made their way to the Entrance Hall. Harry turned around and saw Draco approach them, with two beefy, chubby boys following him. He nodded his head in greeting toward Draco and made to turn around again.

"I'm not done talking, Potter." Harry turned slowly, instantly looking Draco in the eyes, willing him to speak.

"Firstly, snubbing the Heir to an Ancient and Noble House like you did on the train, is considered disrespectful and in poor taste. You ought to know to pay the respect deserved to your betters," Draco said, drawing himself up to his full height, trying to make himself appear dignified.

"Dear cousin, if I see my betters, I will pay them the respect they deserve. I wasn't aware that I encountered an Heir to an Ancient and Noble House on the train, though. Also, I didn't snub you. You asked me to relay a message to Harry Potter and I received it. I wasn't too fond of your remark towards my friend, either," Harry said, looking completely relaxed, but maintaining eye contact with Malfoy.

"I am _not_ your cousin. I am also the Heir to-," Draco started, but Harry cut across him.

"The Heir to the _Noble_ House of Malfoy. The family that bought their nobility upon entering the country from France. Whereas I am the Heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, as well as the godson of one Lord Sirius Black, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, which makes me your better in two ways. We are, indeed, family, _cousin_. You see, my grandmother and your grandmother are sisters! Can you believe it? Astonishing, I know!" Harry exclaimed the last part in mock surprise, looking over to Hermione and winking at her.

"You DARE insult my family, you halfblood son of a-," Draco started shouting, before Harry cut him off again.

"Careful of what you say next, unless you want to spend the next few days in a magically induced coma and your family booted back to France so fast that not even a Portkey can catch up," Harry growled at him, shooting his wand into his hand and stepping forward.

"Your father may hold political influence in the Ministry and Wizenmagot, but he is nothing more than a disgraced, weak-willed Death Eater that had to rely in the Imperius defence to stay out of Azkaban. I promise you that should you try to say anything else about my mother or anyone that is not pureblood in my vicinity, not even he would be able to save you!" Harry kept up his speech, looking Draco dead in the eye, who lost it completely at that point.

Several things happened over the next few moments. Draco took out his wand and signalled to the two boys at his side, who took out theirs as well. They started shooting jinxes at Harry and Hermione. Harry pushed Hermione to the ground and danced out of the way.

"Incarcerous!" Harry shouted, bounding the two chubby boys, bounding them in thick ropes and knocking them over. Draco kept throwing disarming charms at him, which he dodged with grace.

"Expelliarmus, Stupify," he called out again, disarming and stunning Draco. Said boy dropped to the floor, out like a light.

Harry looked towards Hermione to see if she was fine. He saw that she was sitting on the ground, eyes wide in panic, not really comprehending what happened. He walked over to her and help his hand out to help her up. She took it and looked him in the eyes, her breathing shallow and rapid.

"Hermione, are you okay?" he asked the brunette, concerned for her. She nodded her head slowly, still unable to actually say anything. She has never seen anything like what just happened and was still reeling from being shoved out of the way.

"I am really sorry that you had to see that. I really hoped he wouldn't attack, but I had my own family pride to uphold and I won't have anyone insult non-purebloods, seeing as you, me, my mother, Dora and Ted fall in that catagory," Harry said soothingly to Hermione, rubbing her arms gently until she calmed down.

"I don't want you to see the next part of my point, seeing as you will not agree, but it needs to be done. Please, go on so long and find Dora at the library or Great Hall. Explain what you saw and ask her to meet me at professor McGonagall's office," Harry told her, steeling himself. She nodded slowly and turned around, walking at a fast pace.

Harry waited until she was out of sight and walked back towards the three Slytherin boys that he just beat. He saw the two chubby ones struggling against the ropes and Draco was still knocked out. He aimed a hard kick at Draco's ribs, hearing a soft cracking sound under his foot. He knelt next to one of the other boys.

"I have a message for you to deliver. I do not appreciate attacks on myself or anyone I care for. I do not care for insults flung at my family and friends. This is a warning. If Draco comes after me or my friends again, or I have to find out about stuff said behind my back, I will make good on going after him with both of my families. Do you understand?" he whispered. The boy nodded at him, eyes wide. Harry got up and walked off, leaving them behind.

**0o0o0**

"Come in!" came from inside professor McGonagall's office. Harry allowed Hermione and Dora to walk ahead of him. Dora looked ready to tear someone a new one. Harry followed them in and stood in front of the professor's desk. She looked up at them and indicated for them to sit.

"Professor, I want to report something directly to you as deputy headmistress, but I have a request to make. I want to know if I can have my godfather present for this meeting in the formal capacity as my head of house. It is quite important," Harry spoke softly, at which the professor nodded, even if she felt it was a bit weird for such a request. Harry held his arm out and called for Hedwig. There was a flash of fire and the regal white and red phoenix sat atop his arm, looking at him inquisitively. Professor McGonagall gasped at the sight before her. She slowly took off her glasses in shock as Harry whispered something to the phoenix, who trilled softly and disappeared again, only to reappear a few moments later, on the shoulder of a man with long black hair and exquisite grey robes.

"Harry? Professor McGonagall? Is something wrong?" Sirius asked, taking in the faces around him. Professor McGonagall repeated the question toward Harry and everyone looked at him expectantly. Harry took in a deep breath to settle himself.

"Hermione and I was confronted just outside the Entrance Hall a few moments ago. Draco Malfoy and two other Slytherins approached us, telling me I insulted his family's honor by snubbing the Heir to an Ancient and Noble House and telling me I should know my place," Harry started, looking at the two adults. Sirius looked like he wanted to laugh and professor McGonagall looked impassive, waiting for the rest.

"I then proceeded to tell him that I do know my place, being of even older families than his own and that they only have a Noble title, not Ancient. A title which they bought. I informed him of the fact that we are related as well. He wanted to insult my mother, calling her a prostitute, so I warned him to think carefully about what he was about to say, as I don't take insults to people I love, kindly. I also informed him that if he continued with that train of though, not even his ex-Death Eater of a father will save him from what will happen. Then he and his goons started flinging jinxes and hexes at myself and Hermione. I pushed her out of the way and proceeded to disarm and incapacitate them in self defence," Harry finished. He could see Sirius was torn between pride and rage. Professor McGonagall looked to be truly upset. She sent a Patronus to somebody and then looked at Hermione.

"Miss Granger, is this what you observed?" she asked the girl. Hermione nodded her head and then said, " He also made remarks about wanting to warn Harry against associating with people of lesser birth, looking toward me." Professor McGonagall sighed and shook her head. Sirius spoke up for the first time.

"Professor, I don't know how you want to handle this, but I will ask that you take points from Harry's house for confronting a student in a situation he could have avoided and have been goaded into. If you want to give him points for defending a house mate and and self-defence, that is your prerogative. I will deal to the insults to my houses and family in my own way. Inform Mr. Malfoy that there are no warnings from the House of Black." He looked at Harry and smiled at the boy that stood there, agreeing with a loss of points for being stupidly goaded into a confrontation. He bowed slightly toward the professor and told Harry that he was proud of him, then disappeared in a flash of fire as the door opened again.

A furious looking professor Snape, an out of breath professor Flitwick and a stoic headmaster entered the room. Professor Snape demanded an explanation as to why three of his students needed to be freed and rambling about an attack. Professor McGonagall told Harry to go ahead, so he launched into the retelling of the story, starting with the encounter on the train. Professor Snape got progressively more livid, calling for severe punishment for how his students were attacked without cause, even if he could hear that they initiated the attack. Harry kept talking, professor Flitwick looked murderous by the end of the tale. When Harry got to the part of Draco insulting his mother, professor Snape went deathly pale and staggered backwards into an empty seat, even as Harry retold his warning to Draco.

Professor Dumbledore told Harry that the situation will be resolved between himself, Sirius and Lord Malfoy and that Harry should avoid Draco until everything is resolved. Professor McGonagall then spoke up, saying that Sirius already knows and will be taking matters into his own hands, citing dishonor to his family.

Professor Flitwick told Harry that he was both proud and disappointed. He was proud that Harry handled the situation honorably by defending those important to him, but also disappointed that Harry didn't use his Ravenclaw logic to see he was being goaded as well. He should have left well enough alone and kept walking, but at least things didn't turn out for the worst. Professor Dumbledore told him that they would both serve detentions for the events that transpired, but since the situation took on a political aspect, there wasn't more that he could do.

A few days after their detention, Harry received a letter from Sirius. The letter explained that he confronted Lucius Malfoy in front of the Wizengamot, demanding a public apology from the lesser House, in front of the offended parties. Malfoy tried to get out of it by saying that children are foolish and have no idea of what they speak and implied that if Sirius taught Harry better, the whole situation could have been avoided. Sirius used that to his advantage, by reminding Lucius of his House's status, just like Harry did to Draco. This led to a massive outroar and half an hour of shouting and swearing in the Wizengamot. Sirius also wrote in the letter that he was approached by Narcissa Malfoy, asking that he allow her to apologize on behalf of her family and to consider handling the matter in private, where discussions couldn't be made public knowledge.


End file.
